


Free! Eternal Chaos

by SilverHorizon



Category: Free!
Genre: Assumptions, Bad Matchmaking, Chaos, Complete, M/M, Matchmaking, Misunderstandings, Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-02-16 07:06:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2260476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverHorizon/pseuds/SilverHorizon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Haruka wanted was to let Makoto know his feelings. Never would he have wanted something like THIS - but it spreads like a virus and messes with everyone. Who are we trying to hook up again?</p>
<p>Or, in which everyone draws quick assumptions, thinks someone's in love and tries to be a matchmaker, while the ones who are actually in love are too much of cowards to confess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How It All Began

**Author's Note:**

> For those who don't know who Zaki-chan is, she was in the High Speed! novels so the mentions here are sort of, shout outs or something. She (and other High Speed! exclusive characters) most likely won't have an appearance since this is still a Free! fic.

"Haru, get your shit together." Quality advice from Rin. Haru decided not to mention that they had almost needed an entire school year to pass the exact same message on to Rin. It had been about swimming, sure, but in Haru's eyes, everything was somewhat like swimming. Being in love couldn't be too different, he just had to find a way to make it...not different.  
"Look, Haru.", Rin continued. "If you like Makoto, just tell him already. You guys have practically been married since middle school, so I tell you what, he's definitely gonna like you back." Haru didn't respond and just stared out of the window. "You just go up to him and say, Makoto, I love you. That's not that hard. Even someone as stoic as you can do that." Haru still didn't answer, since it wasn't really necessary. Maybe, if he waited, Rin would actually say something useful. "Just pretend he's a waterfall. You don't have problems expressing your feelings towards a waterfall, do you?" Nevermind. He wouldn't.  
Haru finally turned around and glanced at Rin, who looked back at him as if he'd expect him to say something. What was he supposed to say? His opinion? "Your advice is awful." Rin laughed it off. "C'mon Haru, don't be so hard on me. It's your fault for asking someone who's never had a girlfriend." "You didn't." It was more of a statement than of a question. In hindsight, Haru really shouldn't have been surprised, but still, Rin had been the only person he could have asked. Rei and Nagisa were even lesser likely to have girlfriends after all, besides the fact that they probably were an item anyway, or at least they behaved so. Any girl who had ever been interested in one of them most likely just assumed they were gay and gave up.  
"Nope, never. I didn't really bother with girls in Australia because, you know, swimming and stuff, and back in Japan everything was just a blur...you, and all the stuff that happened, and the swimming, there never really was a place for a girlfriend. Besides, I never would've had time for one since I spent all my time training. But tell me, didn't you have something going on with Zaki-chan?" Distant, blurry memories reactivated in abandoned corners of Haru's brain, more exactly, the corners of his middle school memories. He searched them for his former friend's face: A happy girl with a beige scarf that once upon a time had been white, and who liked swimming as well. Not very surprisingly, Haru remembered her swimming rather than herself. "She was friends with Makoto and me, but that's all.", he finally answered. "That's all? Really? Didn't you almost die when you tried to get her scarf?" "That was different." Rin sighed. "You can't be helped, huh?"  
They both remained in silence for a minute, until Haru got up to make dinner. "Will you be eating here?" "If you ask me like that, sure. As long as you don't make me eat Makoto's cooking again.", Rin answered and snickered. Haru ignored the comment.  
"Well, if you and Makoto become an item, I guess you'll have to cook for him, huh?" Haru decided to ignore that comment too, and let Rin keep talking. "I really don't get why you can't just tell him. It would be like you, just blatantly telling him your feelings. I would've guessed you just do that. But you're worried it's gonna backfire, aren't you?" Haru nodded, not taking his eyes off the tomato he was cutting. Rin sighed. "Then, just...drop hints or something. Try to, you know, give him signs, and if he likes you back, he'll pick them up. Can't go wrong." (That, as we are going to see, was definitely a mistake on Rin's part.)  
When Haru didn't answer anything, Rin added: "At least tell him you like boys. He deserves to know that much."  
Haru didn't know why anyone deserved to know anything about that or why anyone who wasn't interested in him would even care about that, but he guessed following Rin's advice for once couldn't hurt. After all, Haru might have bad social skills, really bad social skills, but at least he was aware of them, and Rin was most likely better with people than he was.  
So that was the plan now. Come out to Makoto. Drop hints. Somewhere, deep inside him, Haru already knew that this couldn't not go wrong.

Timing. That was important, right? Timing always was important: When swimming, you had to jump in at the best possible moment, and move your whole body synchronizedly - everything at the right timing. For social things, it wasn't much different. The right moment was significant, and Haru would find it. Sociality is alive. Once you dive in, it will immediately bare its fangs and attack. But there's nothing to fear. Don't resist the sociality.  
Who are we kidding, Haru was practically torn to pieces every time he had to deal with people. If it came to social interaction, there definitely was something to fear, which was why Haru had made an art of avoiding it and especially avoiding other people's problems (Sure enough, Makoto dragged him back in). The only people he'd willingly interact with were his friends, and now, even his best friend was a problem.  
Haru glanced at Makoto as they walked home together, like so many times before. Still, this time was different. Haru's heart was racing, his knees felt shaky and his eyes kept wandering to his best friend, and Haru had to remind himself, they were friends, only friends, and the chances that they were anything more weren't exactly big, no matter what Rin said.  
Makoto was talking about something, like he always did, and Haru tried to listen, he really did, but emotional problems were too much of a distraction. He had to put the words into order, the right words, clear words that would not be a misunderstanding. It couldn't be that hard. Just, opening his mouth and saying it.  
"I like boys."  
"Uh, Haru, were you listening?", Makoto asked confusedly and slightly disgusted. Worries grew inside Haru, what if it had been the wrong decision after all, what if Makoto had a problem with it, what if- "Haru?" "Yes?" Makoto put on a forced, desperate smile. "That...was not the answer to what you want for dinner, right? Because that's what I asked you."  
Oh.  
Well, he had already ruined the timing. How much worse could it go?  
Haru sighed. "Obviously not." Makoto laughed in relief. "Alright, of course!" The warm laughter made Haru smile a little bit, though he quickly forced the smile off his face again. This was serious time.  
"Sooo..." Makoto raised his eyebrows. Haru waited for him to finish the sentence, and only after a minute he realized that that had been the entire sentence. "So what?" "Does that mean you've got a crush?" Haru quickly looked away. Okay. Dropping hints now. Hints meant, being ambigous, right? "Maybe." "So you do have a crush! Aww!" Damn, how was he able to tell? Makoto put an arm around Haru's shoulders and grinned. "Who is it?" "It's...a secret.", Haru responded, then remembered that he was supposed to give signs. "But...uh. I was talking to Rin this weekend, and it really...helped me realize my true feelings for...a very important friend of mine." He could hardly believed he had actually just said those words, they didn't sound like him at all. On the other hand, none of this was like him at all: unnecessary emotional conversation, dropping hints that he liked someone, he was only following Rin's advice. Makoto however didn't seem to realize and had probably just blamed it on Haru's social awkwardness.  
"I see.", he just said, and took his arm off Haru again. Whatever that meant, Haru didn't know, but he barely had time to think about it. Less than a second later, Makoto was already talking about school and food and swimming and his siblings, and somehow, Haru was relieved that it hadn't gone any worse than that. But one thing was for sure, he would never try hinting at his crush ever again.

Makoto forced more and more words out of his mouth and tried to keep talking as much as possible, so that Haru wouldn't realize how his eyes were becoming glassy and his voice had started trembling. Words, more and more words, not stopping. It's not like Haru was listening anyway.  
When Haru had said that he liked boys, a spark of hope had been in Makoto, a spark of hope that after years, there was a chance that Haru felt the same. But then, those words. " I was talking to Rin this weekend, and it really...helped me realize my true feelings for...a very important friend of mine." Sure, Haru wouldn't want to tell anyone all that much about his relationships, but he couldn't hide it from Makoto. It was painfully clear, and looking back at the past year, Makoto wondered how it had been flying past him. After all, it had been obvious all the time.  
Haru definitely had a crush on one of his best friends and one of the boys he was closest to: Rin Matsuoka.


	2. Friendly Support in Flirting

Rin sighed. "You're hopeless."  
Haru didn't answer and instead wished he had never asked Rin for advice. Now his friend had requested to hear every little detail of how it went, and apparently Rin had expected something different. But really, did he really think that Haru could do this? This was human communication after all and human communication was one of the few skills Haru did not possess. Like, not at all.  
"Eh, so how's the team been doing? Are you guys making progress?" Haru was grateful for Rin changing topics. "Yes, especially Rei is getting a lot faster.", he answered relievedly, and decided to push Makoto out of his mind for now. It was not like it would change anything if he thought about him, his heart warming smile, his gentle touch, his soothing voice, his beautiful eyes..."Haru? Are you asleep with your eyes open?" Haru snapped out of it, and travelled back to reality. "I'm awake.", he answered. Rin shook his head. "You're one of a kind. So, answer me now, how's your swimming been doing?" Thus, they finally went to having a proper conversation, but the image of Makoto's warm smile never left the back of Haru's mind.

 

"YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HARU-CHAN?!" Makoto desperately tried to remember why he had thought it was a good idea to tell Nagisa about his crush. Silently, he nodded, and secretly hoped for a hole to open in the world so that he could just die in it. Nagisa tackled Makoto in excitement. "Mako-chan, I knew it! How long have you been dating?" "That's sort of the point. We...aren't.", Makoto answered. Nagisa was shocked. "But you're, you're made for each other! How are you NOT dating?" This did manage to put a small smile on Makoto's face, but only for a second, until he remembered the painful truth (which, as we know, is not the actual truth. But let's face it, Makoto's an idiot.)  
"It's...the thing is...Haru is in love with Rin.", he finally told Nagisa, and saying that out loud made him finally realize in what kind of situation he was in. His crush was in love with someone else, and it wasn't just anyone, it was _Rin_. Rin, who Haru had stopped competitive swimming for. Rin, for who he had picked up competitive swimming again. Rin, who Haru had chased for a year until they finally found the friend they had made before Rin had left to Australia. Rin, Rin, Rin. Makoto didn't stand a chance, did he?  
"Eeeh, what? Is everyone gay?", Nagisa asked, as if that was the most relevant thing right now , and Makoto didn't even bother answering (We all know it would've been a "yes" though). Deep inside, he swore to NEVER EVER go to Nagisa for advice again.  
"Nagisa, uh, I need you to promise me something.", he finally said after Nagisa had sort-of calmed down. "Please, don't tell anyone about this." "Not even Rei-chan?", Nagisa asked with big, sparkling eyes, and Makoto had almost given in to his cutesy charm. "No, not even Rei. Nobody." "Alright." Nagisa pouted, and Makoto sighed. If he had known what was going on in Nagisa's head...  
When Makoto finally left for his own classes, Nagisa snickered lightly. Sure, he wouldn't tell anyone...for now. He had promised after all. But he had other ways of helping...

 

Rin sighed. Haru _was_ hopeless.  
It was seriously time for an intervention.  
Now, Rin knew Haru barely ever used his mobile and often left it at home. He wouldn't realize if it was gone for like, 24 hours or something, now would he?  
Rin snickered as he looked at the shiny piece of modern technology in his hands. If Haru couldn't talk to Makoto, he would have to do it. After all, he probably was the only potential matchmaker, and those two really needed one.  
Luckily, Haru had no code, so it didn't take a second to unlock his phone and open the message dialogue with Makoto. "Here we go.", Rin murmured, and started typing.

[Hey]

That sounded legit, right? Except for the fact that Haru never randomly sent messages to Makoto, but as if anyone would realize.

[Hi! What is it?]

The answer came surprisingly fast. Rin grinned. It was time to roll.

[Nothing particular. I just wanted to talk to you.]  
[Ah, that's great! By the way, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you much lately. Actually I really like talking to you.]

This...was slightly weird. But it was Makoto, so Rin wasn't all that surprised.

[I like talking to you too.]  
[That makes me so happy! Maybe we should really meet up more often, just the two of us ;) ]

Rin was slightly put off by the wink, but maybe it was just a typo.

[Yes, I think so too. It would be really nice to have some time with you alone.]  
[Time alone, hmm? Do you mean time alone as in, not with the others, or time alone as in... ;) ]

Rin was convinced he would never be able to look at Makoto the same way ever again.

[You decide.]  
[I think you already know what I will choose ;) but this is probably something we shouldn't talk about in texts!]  
[That's right, but I'm afraid I will be too shy to say such things if we are standing face to face.]

Rin somehow had to make sure that Makoto would approach this again.

[Oh, don't worry! Just talk to me about such things, you don't have to hold back ;) ]  
[I hoped you could try to approach it...]  
[Come on, it's really not that hard! You just have to say it!]  
[I don't say many things...]  
[You see, I might actually have the same problem...everything's easy here but in reality, I get lost whenever I see you, I can feel butterflies in my stomach and everything's going crazy in my head...I just never know what to say...]

Okay, Rin guessed, let's just throw in something corny but not too corny and then get back to this.

[I feel the same when I see you.]  
[Really???]

Oh seriously Makoto? Is this actually you?

[I feel like I'm locked in your eyes whenever I see you, but I don't mind.]

This was so borderline corny that Rin was almost scared Makoto would be able to tell it wasn't Haru.

[Whenever we touch, it feels as if I'm lifting from the ground.]

Rin took a few seconds to debate whether he should make a sexual reference here or not, but decided to keep it just romantic/corny in the end.

[When you take my hand, I hope you never let go.]

Rin had to admit, he did get pretty lost in this, almost to the point where he had to remember that he was pretending to be Haru. Nonetheless, Makoto seemed to be buying it all.

[Even if it seems, you know I'm always there, so in the end, I won't let go! You're always in my heart and always on my mind!]  
[Please, promise me that you'll remember these words when we meet again, and say them. I wished I could hear your voice right now.]

Rin just hoped that Makoto forgot that you could phone people with mobile phones.

[You'll hear it again soon enough!]

"What'cha doing there?" Rin jumped. Sousuke was here.  
"Ehh..." Rin hid the mobile. Even if he was just a substitute for Haru, Sousuke would definitely laugh at him if he saw this. "Just...texting someone." Sousuke grinned. "Who? Your girlfriend?" Rin sighed and tried to keep the mobile out of Sousuke's reach. "You know I don't have a girlfriend.", he answered. "This is just some...uh...it's none of your business." For a moment, the air was filled with tension as the two boys glared at each other. At any moment now, Sousuke would try to grab the mobile, and Rin had to be prepared to defend himself by any means. After all, if this mobile broke, he would die- no, hold on, wrong anime. Back to Free!. If Sousuke managed to snatch Haru's mobile and read what they just wrote, Rin would be embarrassed for eternity. After all, Sousuke wasn't nearly as romantic as Rin.  
Surprisingly enough, Sousuke just sighed and shrugged it off. "Whatever. I won't sneak into your private business." Rin tried not to look as relieved as he actually was, and quickly slipped the mobile under his pillow. He couldn't write Makoto anymore anyways as long as Sousuke was there, so he decided that the conversation had gone far enough anyway. Now all he had to do was sneak it back into Haru's home. But before that...  
"Imma use the bathroom." Since that sentence was actually sincere, Rin got up to do so.

 

Nagisa frowned at the mobile he was holding. [You'll hear it again soon enough!] He had come this far, but Haru wasn't answering anymore. Sure enough, Makoto wouldn't have come anywhere without his awesome help.  
Just a few hours ago, when Makoto had told him about his crush, Nagisa had snatched Makoto's mobile and decided to keep it for a bit, to...help matters. They wouldn't get anywhere without their support, after all. He hadn't expected to be messaged by Haru himself so soon though. Now, after some corny flirting had been done that Makoto would have never been able to, he had suddenly stopped writing for whatever reason. It wasn't really important though, he had gotten far enough. Now he only had to wait until Haru tackled that topic again...

 

Sousuke snickered. What kind of roommate would he be if he didn't sneak in Rin's private business? Sousuke took the mobile Rin had just sled under his pillow (he probably thought Sousuke wouldn't see it or something) and had a look at the last few messages in the dialogue that was just open.

[I feel like I'm locked in your eyes whenever I see you, but I don't mind.] No girlfriend, huh?  
[Whenever we touch, it feels as if I'm lifting from the ground.] Rin really was as corny as Sousuke had expected.  
[When you take my hand, I hope you never let go.]  
[Even if it seems, you know I'm always there, so in the end, I won't let go! You're always in my heart and always on my mind!]  
[Please, promise me that you'll remember these words when we meet again, and say them. I wished I could hear your voice right now.]  
[You'll hear it again soon enough!]

Sousuke threw up in his mouth a little.  
After getting over how corny this was, Sousuke looked at the top of the window to see who the lucky lady was.  
It was a guy.  
Sousuke had to admit that he really, really wasn't surprised.  
Makoto. Who was that again? Oh yeah, Sousuke thought, Tachibana Makoto, that other guy on the other swim team. Tall, muscular, brunette, gentle smile and generally a very friendly person - Sousuke could see why Rin liked him.  
Someone opened the door, and Sousuke quickly sled the mobile back under the pillow. He would never ever read Rin's messages again, that was for sure, just as much as he would definitely support Rin in all this. They were friends after all.  
Sousuke would not let anything or anyone get between Rin and Makoto.


	3. And The Chaos Spreads Further

Three days, and Rin still hadn't even talked to Makoto again. Sousuke was really concerned. Could it be that of all people, the determined, romantic, strong-willed Rin Matsuoka was...shy? Love was very different from swimming after all. Or was it? To people who weren't Haruka Nanase, probably yes.

But Rin and Makoto obviously liked each other. Sousuke had a difficult time looking at and talking to Rin normally without thinking about what he read on that mobile, but...he was a good friend. And thus, it was his duty to help Rin, whether Rin wanted it or not. (He probably didn't, which was why Sousuke decided to do it in secret.)  
"So, Rin.", he finally said, when he had finished his not particularly genius plan. "How come you never invite anyone? Our room isn't that embarrassing." Rin paused doing sit-ups and gave Sousuke a confused look. "How come you of all people would want any of them here?" “Oh, I just...want you to spend enough time with your...friends. You just found back together last Summer, it would be awful if you drifted apart again now.”, Sousuke lied. “If this is about me, don't worry, I don't have a problem with them coming over. Even if I don't get on well with Nanase...you know, that Tachibana guy seems fairly decent. Why don't you ask him to come over sometimes?” “Uh...sure, I guess. It's been some time since we did something together that wasn't swimming and didn't involve holding back Haru from jumping into the water.”, Rin answered bemusedly, and shrugged. “Suppose I'll invite him over for the weekend or something.”  
Satisfied, Sousuke smiled and went back to his school work.  
“Hmm. Maybe I should invite Nagisa over too...”, Rin murmured, and Sousuke snapped back up. “NO!”, he shouted so loud that Rin cringed. “Jeez, Sousuke, what's wrong? Do you have a problem with Nagisa?” “No, it's...uh...”, Sousuke stuttered. Rin rolled his eyes, and continued doing sit-ups. “Whatever. To be honest, I can understand any person who doesn't want Nagisa to enter their room ever.” He paused. “We all made that mistake before...”  
Sousuke sighed in relief, and tried to focus on his homework again, but suddenly maths seemed like gibberish. Not that it didn't seem like gibberish usually, but Rin and his secret crush on Makoto that was totally real and not just a misunderstanding were such a distraction that he simply couldn't focus on numbers right now. Or, variables that were letters pretending to be numbers. Maths was weird.  
Luckily, Rin put him out of his misery.  
“Uh...Sousuke. Can I talk to you about someth-” “YES!” Sousuke turned around so quickly that he fell off his chair. With a red face, he picked himself up again, and sat down next to Rin. “What do you need?” “It's...I have this friend.” Rin started. “He has a secret crush on someone and is really bad if it comes to romance, and the last time I gave him advice, it, uh, didn't work too well. See, I've never had a girlfriend, so I don't really have any experience...” “Yes I absolutely see that.”, Sousuke blurted out before quickly shutting his mouth again. He had to give Rin time to come out! And he had to practise his surprised face or Rin would be able to tell he had been snooping around.  
Rin just made a weird face before continuing. “Anyway. You wouldn't happen to have any idea how to help him? It's really frustrating to see him struggling like this...” “I can relate.”, Sousuke answered with a friendly smile. “But I guess I'd say, just go up and tell him! That's the best way.” “I'll ignore the fact that you just assumed my friend is gay even though I never said anything like it.”, Rin answered. “Anyway, I told him the exact same thing, but he's too shy!” Ah, it was a classic, the whole I have a friend thing. So Rin really was shy around his crushes? That was...actually kind of adorable.  
Sousuke would have loved to give advice, but at this point, he was entirely clueless.  
“Look.”, he said, “I don't know much about relationships either, and you are way romantic than me. If you just go with that romance stuff, I'm sure...” “If I go with that romance stuff, he'll be entirely lost. There's no way he can pull that off!”, Rin retorted. Who would have thought that he of all people would lack confidence if it came to this? Sousuke however was pretty sure that this Makoto guy was into romance at least a bit. He put a hand on Rin's shoulder and the friendliest smile he could manage onto his face. “Don't worry. I'm sure you...he can do it. After all, everyone's a little romantic somewhere, huh?” Except for myself, Sousuke thought, so please don't ask me for advice on it ever again.

That had been...weird, to say at least. After Rin had just nodded awkwardly and mentally punched himself into the face, Sousuke had gone back to his homework. Why was he behaving like this? First, telling Rin to invite Makoto over, then reacting like this to Rin's questions...but it made him wonder, was Haru capable of being actually romantic? It surely sounded odd but maybe he should take Sousuke's advice...or otherwise, those idiots would never get together.  
And, he was right, it was time to invite someone over. Why not Makoto anyway? He was, just as Sousuke had said, a decent guy, and a good friend. Also, he was in serious need of love assistance.  
He took his phone, and dialled the number.

Why Sousuke was grinning so broadly when Makoto arrived, Rin didn't know, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. The good thing was, as soon as they were in their room, Sousuke escaped and left them alone. Rin didn't particularly mind.  
“So. Makoto.”, he said, putting on a serious face. “I've gotta talk to you.” “Sure, what is it?”, Makoto responded with his friendly as ever face. “Do you need help with anything?” “It's about Haru.” Makoto's smile dropped as fast as a brick. “Oh. Uh. What's wrong?”, he asked, his voice shaking. Rin wanted to facepalm over all this obliviousness and all this obvious crushing. “Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It's just...hmm. You know, lately, you and Haru have really been hanging out a lot together. Like, just the two of you.”, he said, trying desperately to find a good way to put this. Makoto nodded. “I...suppose we have.” “Yeah, anyway, I am wondering if you don't...get any kind of, you know, idea when doing that. I mean, you and Haru are really close. And, trust me, both of you are important in my life, so...I just want the best for you, you see?” Rin tried to figure what was going on in Makoto, but it was kind of confusing. Had he gotten the message? Surely. How could anyone misunderstand that?  
Finally, Makoto nodded again. “Ah, I see. I only want the best for you too! I guess it's just that, sometimes, things like that just fly over my head.” Rin sighed in relief. “I'm glad you understand...”  
They smiled at each other until it became really awkward, then Rin decided to change the topic as quickly as possible.

Makoto felt a tiny bit guilty. Even if he had to admit that he was kind of jealous, he wanted Haru and Rin to be happy. So naturally, even if he hadn't done it on purpose, spending so few time with Rin and not giving him and Haru enough time alone made him feel bad about himself. How had he not realized that Rin was jealous? It was so obvious now! How he had been playing at Makoto and Haru hanging out alone and redlining Rin, and how he had told him how important they were to him, as if he had wanted to say “Look, Makoto, it hurts me if you ignore me like this.” But that wouldn't be a problem from now on. He would spend more time with him, and so would Haru.  
Even if it meant giving up on the love of his life. Makoto had already done that anyway.

Ai sometimes, or rather, daily wished he could share a room with Rin again. This time it was his English homework that just left him clueless. Rin had always helped him with that, so maybe, if he had time...  
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his arm, and almost fell over. “I'm sorry, you can't go in there now.”, he heard Sousuke growl. Ai looked up at him. “Why? Is something wrong?” “No, the opposite! It's going great. Don't disturb it.” Sousuke's ice cold look was convincing enough for Ai to not go into that room, but it left him just as clueless. “Uh...okay...what's going on with Rin-Senpai?”, he stuttered. Sousuke smiled, and it looked kind of scary. “Hmm...look. Rin is in love. Yes, you heard me, he is absolutely in love, and finally, things are working perfectly. You don't even know how much work I put into this, to set everything up the right way. Even I am surprised that I have such a good hand with romance.”, he explained.  
Ai just nodded, turned around and walked away. He was absolutely baffled. What Sousuke had just told him...he would have never thought Rin and Sousuke would become a couple! Okay, he had. Just not in full seriousness. And yet, here they were, on their way to whatever romance was going to happen...determinedly, Ai left them alone. He would make sure his Senpais had a good relationship. No one would get between them. No one.  
He lesser elegantly opened the door to his room.  
Momo was sitting over some shoujo manga. When Ai came in, he jumped, and quickly shoved it under his pillow. Ai decided not to tell him that he had seen it.  
“Hey, Nitori-senpai! What's up?” What was up? He had just found out his senpais were a gay couple! But seriously, he couldn't tell Momo like that. “Uh...nothing much.”, he stuttered instead, and put his books back onto his desk. Momo took out his mobile, and typed some messages. “Alright! Hey, you look kind of upset...”  
He did?  
Ai sighed. Momo was probably right. He was kind of worried. What if the other students wouldn't accept Rin and Sousuke? What if they would be mocked, or entirely rejected, what if the swim team would be against it? He couldn't let that happen!  
“Momo-kun.”, he said, trying to sound like Sousuke (it failed). Momo looked up from his phone. “Yeah?” “Do you think being gay is bad?”  
Momo was silent for a few seconds, as if he was overthinking his life choices, but Ai doubted that Momo ever really thought at all.  
“No, not really!”, Momo finally answered, and grinned at Ai. “I mean, if someone I knew and that I made friends with in the past few months now told me that he was gay, I wouldn't mind! Actually, I would appreciate the honesty!” Ai wondered why Momo was being so specific, but it was already a huge relief. At least his friend would be fine with Rin and Sousuke dating.

Momo was kind of disappointed when Nitori-senpai just smiled and turned around to give his homework another try. Hadn't he been about to come out just a second ago? It was the most blatant thing ever! What other reason could a person have to ask a question like that this nervously? Well, at least Momo had gotten his message across. He really didn't mind that Nitori-senpai was gay, honestly, he had actually kind of suspected it. After all, Ai had always been pretty obsessed with Matsuoka...  
When Momo was sure that Ai was completely focused on his homework, he took the manga out again and continued reading, wondering why Ai hadn't just told him. He looked at his roommate again, he was sort of adorable.  
I will tickle it out of you, Momo thought, just you wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long hiatus, I was really busy with school and the NaNo WriMo. I hope you liked the new chapter!


	4. Sleepover, more like Shipover

Haru knew it was a bad idea. Haru knew it was an AWFUL idea. Haru also knew that if Nagisa was trying to get his will across, he got his will across.  
And so, there he was, trying to ask Makoto casually to sleep over at his place.  
“A sleepover? Sure, why not?” Makoto tilted his head and smiled, and Haru wished his heart would just stop pounding. It was just a sleepover, nothing more...they had had sleepovers when they were kids too, a lot of them, they had even shared a bed when they had been younger. This was no big deal. This was the exact opposite of a big deal.  
Also, it wasn't as if anything even could happen, since Nagisa and Rei were coming too.  
“Hey, I have an idea.”, Makoto suddenly said, interrupting Haru's thoughts. “Why don't we invite Rin too? We haven't spent much time together lately, and to be honest, I get the feeling that he'd...appreciate it if you asked him. Just saying.” Haru really didn't understand what Makoto meant by most of that or why he grinned so weirdly, but he decided to do it nonetheless, things couldn't get any worse anyway, and at least there'd by one person who knew of his crush.

“Sure, sounds great.”, Rin mumbled into the phone as he was walking back to his room. “I think I have time, hold on...yeah. Should I bring snacks?” A sleepover, he could smell Nagisa behind that. But Makoto would be there too, so maybe, he could...offer some friendly support. Haru didn't have to know about it.  
“Okay, see you then!”, he answered a bit too cheerfully for his own tastes and hung up. Where was he going again? Ah, yeah, his room. Hadn't he just walked past it? Sighing, Rin turned around – and bumped straight into Ai.  
“Ah, senpai, sorry!”, Ai shouted. Rin shrugged it off. “Are you going anywhere?” “I'm just looking for Suzuki-kun, he asked me to help him with his homework...” Why anyone would want Ai to help them with their homework, that was one mystery to Rin.  
“Ah, Rin-senpai!”, Ai exclaimed. Rin thought that he should have seen that coming. Ai fiddled with his fingers and looked at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. “Uh, I think there is something you need to know.”  
Rin would've lied if he said he didn't think that Ai was going to confess his crush, but instead, his kouhai started stammering: “Y-You see. Yamazaki-senpai is in love, and, I think you should know that. It's also, uh, I probably shouldn't say who it is, but I can tell you that it isn't who you'd think it is, and...also...you were probably expecting it to be a girl, but, you know, sometimes things just...uh...are different than you expect. I mean. I'm just saying. I don't mean anything by it. I just thought you should know.” “Ai, please...stop.”, Rin interrupted. “That's...nice of you, I suppose. Uh, thanks for telling me all this...stuff.” Ai nodded quickly before rushing away.  
So that was how it was.  
Rin sighed, and made his way back to his room. That was the reason Sousuke had wanted him to invite Makoto so badly! Of course! Sousuke had a crush on Makoto!  
But – that meant -  
Rin changed course midway and ran into a wall instead.  
Could it be that both of his best friends were in love with the same guy? Well, it was understandable, kind of, Makoto was a sweet and caring person. And, Rin really couldn't say that any of his friends being gay would even be capable of surprising him anymore, they all just...acted the part so much. Haru? Had always been practically married to Makoto. Nagisa? Everything he did, just...everything was enough to draw assumptions. Rei? His whole deal with beautiful things didn't particularly indicate straightness. Ai? Please. And Makoto?  
What if, after all this, Makoto would turn out to be straight anyway?  
Rin decided to stop leaning his forehead against the cold hard wall and went back into his room.

Sousuke knew two things: Firstly, when Makoto had come over, absolutely nothing had been going down. Secondly, Rin seriously needed help. “So”, he said as Rin came back into their room. “Makoto coming over anytime soon again?” Rin looked at him for a long time, as if he was thinking about a lot of things desperately, and shrugged. “Maybe. By the way, if nothing comes inbetween, I'm gonna sleep at Haru's tonight. They're having a sleepover. I'm 100% sure this was Nagisa's idea.” “And...is Makoto going too?”, Sousuke asked with a smug grin. Sooner or later, Rin would realize that he knew about his crush. Rin, however, hesitated for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah. I'm afraid I can't bring you along though, you and Haru never really...got on all that well.” “Me?”, Sousuke asked, confused. “I just wondered if you were looking forwards to meeting him again!” “...of course.”, Rin replied, and Sousuke couldn't help believing that he had misunderstood something. “Yes, Makoto's coming too. And I'm sure he'd love to come over sometime again.” Of course he would, Sousuke thought, he'll be your boyfriend after all, because I will absolutely make sure that you end up together.

“So you're coming?” “Of course I am.” Makoto had a hard time understanding anything about Nagisa. He had planned for them all to come to Haru's place tonight, and yet he was grinning broadly as if Makoto coming too was a huge surprise. Also, he didn't blink. Now that Makoto thought about it, he couldn't recall Nagisa blinking. Ever.  
“Hmm, you know what that means.”, Nagisa said in a voice that made Makoto afraid of what the hell Nagisa could mean by that. “Uh, no, not really.”, he replied. Nagisa facepalmed. “Mako-chaaan! You're so dense! It means that you and Haru-chan will get together!” “We will WHAT” “You will get together! I have a plan!” Makoto shook his head slowly in denial. Nagisa having plans was usually the worst possible thing that could happen. That one time when they had tried to find a way to make Rei faster, Nagisa didn't just SUGGEST wiping slime all over him, he DEMONSTRATED. Makoto didn't know what kind of slime it was or what Nagisa had actually wanted to achieve (probably not making Rei faster...in swimming). Makoto also didn't really want to know.  
Nagisa began to explain. “See, Haru has a sofa and two futons, so it's enough for three people to sleep over, right? Well, I dropped by yesterday, and talked a little about water until he spaced out and was thinking about water, and then I sneaked out of the room and took one of the futons!” Even if Nagisa had done pretty well with tricking Haru, Makoto really, really couldn't approve of this idea. “Hold on. You did what?!” “I took a futon! Don't worry, I'll return it afterwards, just for now. Well, tonight, when we're all at Haru's place, Haru won't be able to find a third futon. Rei and I will take the other futon and the sofa as quickly as possible, so you'll be standing there without a futon. That's when you will smile as sweetly as possible, and Haru will look away and blush a little, and say” Nagisa faked Haru's voice: “We could share a bed, like when we were younger.” He winked and went back to his normal voice. “You nod, and the two of you lie into the same bed. There, you'll gently put an arm around Haru, and Haru will come closer to you, and, well...that's where you can take it as far as you want! I packed...some stuff, in case you need it.”  
Makoto was too terrified to say anything.

Rin arrived half an hour early, his head still stuck in the dilemma of both of his best friends being in love with the same person. He didn't know who to support, what to do, what to think...sighing, he knocked on Haru's door. The problem was that Haru and Makoto really were practically married, and he couldn't see anyone else with Haru, but he also couldn't just break Sousuke's heart like that.  
So he had decided to just figure out who Makoto liked first. Maybe he was straight anyway (which Rin doubted but had to consider) and the problem would solve itself.  
Haru opened the door. “You're half an hour early.”, he said in a monotone voice. Rin noticed that his hair was still wet. “You were in the bathtub, weren't you.” “No. I got out five minutes ago.”, Haru replied, and let Rin in. “I brought a sleeping bag, since you won't have enough futons for all of us, if I remember correctly...” Haru nodded, and went into the kitchen. “Since you're already here, you could help me cook.” “I'm not sure if that's such a good idea...”, Rin answered, recalling the last time he tried to cook something. It ended with a mass of black slime, two broken cups, a crying Gou, three angry neighbours and an ambulance. He didn't like to talk about it.  
Haru shrugged, and started cooking.  
Rin's original plan had been to come over and talk about Makoto, but right now he didn't even know what to say. He recalled the messages he had sent to Makoto with Haru's phone, and wondered if they should be enough as an indicator that Makoto liked Haru. After all, if he did, wouldn't that mean he had to help Haru and Makoto get together, since they already were in love? But – Sousuke! He couldn't just break his heart like that...  
He had to hook Sousuke up with someone else first. That was the only possibility.  
“Hey, Haru. Do you know anyone who's gay?”, he asked. Haru looked at him with a very hard to see confused expression on his face. “Rin. I AM gay.” “Yeah, I know, but I mean, do you know anyone else who's gay?”, Rin asked, rolling his eyes. Haru turned back to the food. “Do you actually believe that anyone at this sleepover tonight is straight?”  
That, Rin had to admit, was a justified question.  
The problem was, there was no way he could hook up Sousuke with Nagisa or Rei. There were also their two teammates, Aiichirou and Momotarou, but how could you hook up Sousuke with any of them?  
There of course was him too, but he wasn't interested in Sousuke like that. (He thought, at least.)  
“Well, uh, anyone else? Is Kisumi into girls?” Haru shrugged. “I don't know.” “C'mon Haru, you and him were friends in middle school, I know you used to hang out a lot.” “I didn't hang out with him. He just sat next to me at lunch and talked.”  
Rin sighed. “Did you ever see him with a girl? Not that I couldn't see him as bi, but...” “He usually avoided them.”, Haru explained. “He was very popular with girls, so he sat with us so they would leave him alone.”  
Rin had to say, that sounded a lot as if Kisumi was gay. Kisumi and Sousuke, was there any chance that would work out? They had always gotten along just fine...  
There just had to be someone for Sousuke too, right? And if Makoto really did like Haru, he couldn't just break them up like that. Rin decided that tonight, he would give them a chance to get together. He wasn't sure if Makoto and Sousuke would work out anyway, but most importantly, if they already were in love, he had no right to change that just because Sousuke was his friend too. So, Rin made a plan.

Makoto would be there at the exact right time. Nagisa and Rei would probably arrive together, maybe a little late. Until they would arrive, Rin could excuse himself to go to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Makoto would offer to help with the cooking. To show him how to do it, Haru would stand behind him, take his hands and lead them. That was absolutely going to happen, and the first instance when they might get together.  
Then, Nagisa and Rei would arrive, and they all would eat. Not much happening there. Nagisa and Rei knew nothing, so they would just behave like usual. That was when Rin would suggest watching the movie he had brought along. He would also put a fluffy blanket on one side of the sofa, and Nagisa would be certain to sit down there. Rei, of course, would sit next to Nagisa. Rin then would sit on the other side of the couch, but put some pillows and stuff on the floor in front of the couch so that Haru and Makoto could sit there together. Then, when the romantic scenes started (the movie had a heavy romantic subplot) they would shift closer, exchange glances, their hands would touch and they would both blush. Makoto would put an arm around Haru and...that was the second instance when they could get together.  
If that didn't work, Rin would suggest playing seven minutes in heaven. No, he would get Nagisa to suggest seven minutes in heaven, because then nobody would protest because they knew it was pointless. It couldn't be that hard to get Haru and Makoto into the closet together. That was the third instance when they could get together.  
Also, just in case, he had brought along pocky to play pocky. It was another instance for HaruMako to happen, but it was more likely for Nagisa to eat them all on his own.  
If they weren't together by midnight, Rin would suggest going outside and watching the stars. He would lure Nagisa away from Haru and Makoto with sweets, and then ask Rei if he could just come along quickly because he needed his help with something. Something that required a smart person with taste for beauty. Thus, Haru and Makoto would be on their own. Their hands would find each other, and they would intertwine their fingers. They would confess their feelings, and then shyly kiss under the stars. The fifth instance for them to get together.  
And if all else failed, there still was a sixth instance that Rin had planned. When they were going to sleep, he would realize that he had forgotten to bring along his sleeping bag. That would result in Haru and Makoto sharing Haru's bed. If that wouldn't get them together, Rin didn't know what would. With Plan A, B, C, D, E and F, there was no way he wouldn't succeed, right?

Oh, just how wrong he could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rin might not be the best matchmaker, but let's admit it, he would be an incredible fan fiction author.


	5. Fan Fictions are nice and Reality isn't (The humongous Valentine's update)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The humongous Valentine's update! No, seriously, this chapter is twice as long as the chapters before, AND features the sleepover you've been waiting for!  
> Also, in case you're already confused: Haru likes Makoto. Makoto likes Haru, and thinks Haru likes Rin. Nagisa wants to hook up Makoto and Haru. Rei isn't involved (until the next paragraph, that is). Rin wants to hook up Makoto and Haru. Sousuke wants to hook up Rin and Makoto. Ai wants to hook up Sousuke and Rin. Momo thinks Ai is gay. That's it, so far.

Rei dragged Nagisa along. “Come on, we're going to be late!” “We are supposed to be late, Rei-chan!”, Nagisa responded way too cheerful to fit the line. “Us being late is really really essential!” “Essential for what exactly?” Nagisa did not answer that, and instead just kept moving at a really low pace, stopping at the sight of everything interesting and petting every kitten they saw for at least ten minutes. Rei tried to understand why Nagisa was doing this, but he probably didn't have a reason besides from being Nagisa.  
He checked the clock on his mobile phone. “We were supposed to arrive ten minutes ago, so please, hurry up a little?” Nagisa made his thinking face. “Ten minutes? Hmm, I guess twenty more should be enough...” “You want to be half an hour late on purpose?!” Rei shook his head, and was about to put his phone back into his pocket when it started ringing. The number wasn't familiar. A little sceptical, he accepted the call. “Hello?” “Hello. Is this Ryuugazaki Rei?”, a male voice answered. “Uh, yes.”, Rei responded, while watching Nagisa run off to something ever so interesting he had apparently seen.  
“Ryuugazaki-san. I have an important mission for you.”, the voice said. Rei lowered his voice. “What do you need?” “You see, there aren't many of you that are reliable enough. I cannot count on Nanase-san to do this, and Hazuki-san doesn't seem capable of something like this, so you are the only one I can ask.” “I understand.”, Rei responded. “What is my task?” “Your mission that you must fulfill by all costs is...”  
The voice took a deep breath that even Rei could hear.  
“...to get Tachibana-san and Rin together.”

Well that surely wasn't anything like what Rei had expected.

“Excuse me, but could you explain?” “Well.”, the voice said. “I know that they are in love, but they are too shy to confess. You, a person who knows all about gay- about beauty most certainly are capable of showing them their true feelings for each other and revealing their love. You absolutely must not fail.” “Trust me, I will not.”, Rei answered. “I will do everything in my power to complete the mission – even though, I don't really understand the relevance of love, after all, it is just chemical reactions that have effects on our body. I don't see why people dedicate their time to it, but I am willing to help a friend.”  
The voice didn't respond for a good amount of time. “Hold on.”, it finally said. “Aren't you dating Hazuki-san?” “Hazuki-san is not involved in this!”, Rei shouted back. “Who are you anyway?” “...you don't need to know that. Just do what you're told.” “How do you have my number?” “I have my sources!”  
The voice paused.  
“Okay, I stole it from Rin's mobile. But that's besides the point.” The person, whoever it was, sighed. “Now go and fulfil your mission. I am counting on you to use this unique chance.” And with those words, he hung up.  
Rei had no words anymore.

Makoto arrived, as always, exactly on time. He arrived with a bag full of snacks and drinks, and a card game, because Haru never prepared sleepovers properly. When there was no response when he knocked, he just walked in, like he always did. Some food was prepared and just needed to be cooked, but there was no sight of Haru.  
Sighing, Makoto dropped his stuff and opened the bathroom door.  
“Really?”, he asked. “Really, Haru?”  
Haru looked at him with a not understanding face. “I don't see your problem.” “Everyone's gonna arrive any moment now and you're soaking in your bathtub, how can you not see the problem?!” “I don't see how you can see a problem there.”  
Makoto groaned. “You should get out of there now, and put on some clothes.” “I am wearing clothes.”, Haru replied. Makoto shook his head. “Some clothes that aren't swimsuits.”  
Haru got up, and water dripped down his muscles. His wet skin was glowing in the little sunlight that fell through the window. Wet hair fell into his dazzling blue eyes that looked at him annoyedly.  
“I don't see why I need to wear anything else.”  
Makoto snapped out of the million fantasies that popped up in his head at this sight. “It's...just...standard. You know. Just put on some clothes.”, he stuttered, and quickly took his sight off Haru's skin.

It wasn't like that could become reality anyway.

Sighing, he sat down in the kitchen, and stared at the table. For how long had he been in love with Haru now? He couldn't tell. It was hard to say when the feelings of friendship became more, they just seemed mixed, blurred in a way, since loving him as a friend and loving him as a crush weren't two exclusive things. They were hard to tell apart, and Makoto had tried to make himself believe that Haru was just a really close friend for a long time, but there was a point where he couldn't deny it anymore.  
Would it ever stop hurting?  
Sure, he could deal. He had been dealing with their most likely incompatibility for a long time, and now, he could deal seeing Haru fall for another guy who he could get happy with. Yes, that was what he wanted the most. Haru being happy. He could deal with not having him.  
That didn't mean it didn't hurt, though.  
Maybe it would stop someday.  
Probably not.

Haru returned, fully clothed, and sat down next to Makoto. There was silence for a few seconds, a very weird kind of silence that couldn't just be described with words, before Haru finally opened his mouth.  
“Something is bothering you.”  
Makoto looked at him, finding the same expressionless face he always did. But, even though it probably was just his imagination, there was something in his eyes that almost seemed like – concern?  
“Ah, it's nothing.”, he answered quickly, and put on a smile. Haru shook his head. “I don't believe you.” “Well...” Makoto took a really long breath. “It's just, I...okay. I'm in love with someone who likes someone else, that's all.”  
For a moment, Haru's eyes widened, and silence surrounded them once again. Heavy silence.  
“So you're in love.”, Haru finally said. Makoto nodded. “Yeah.”, he answered, and prayed that Haru wouldn't ask who it was. What would he do? Lie? No way. Just tell him? No way in swimming pool hell.  
Luckily, Haru wasn't the kind of person to ask things like that. The silence wasn't much better though.

To sum up the next thirty minutes, it was AWKWARD. Turned out Rin had already arrived but left again to buy some drinks and Nagisa and Rei were 20 minutes late, and Makoto couldn't have been gladder when they finally arrived. Even though Rin looked kind of surprised when they told him they hadn't been doing anything really. What had he expected?  
Haru went into the kitchen to prepare food, and Nagisa quickly snatched Makoto. “So, is the plan for tonight still standing?” “It was never standing at all!” “Great! So, has Haru realized that he's lacking a futon yet?” Makoto sighed. “Nagisa, really, I'm not sure if this is a good idea...” “What are you saying, it's a great idea! C'mon, it will totally work, trust me!” Makoto was not convinced.  
“Nagisa-kun!”  
Nagisa jumped. “Rei-chan, what is it?” Rei adjusted his glasses. “We need to leave. For a minute. Or something.” Nagisa tilted his head. “Whaaa, why?” “The reason is...it is...a cat. Yes. I saw a cat and we must investigate the cat now.” Rei adjusted his glasses again. Nagisa furrowed his eyebrows. “Rei-chan, are you okay?” “Yes. No. I am not okay unless we investigate this cat now. It is a very odd and interesting cat.” “Why, what exactly makes it so interesting?”, Rin asked, half laughing, half confused. Rei adjusted his glasses for the third time. “It...was purple. Is purple. I think. It also was glowing. And flying. And...” “Alright, nevermind.”, Rin quickly interrupted. “Alright, go investigate or whatever, but Nagisa stays with you.” “Alright!”, Nagisa squealed, and left the room with Rei's hand in his.  
Rin watched the door close, before he turned to Makoto. “...should I be worried?” “I want to say no, but in all honesty, I don't know.”, he replied.  
“Do you think they're an item?”, Rin asked out of the blue. Makoto jumped. “What?” “Nagisa and Rei. Whether you think they're an item. You know, a couple. Together. In love. Dating. Kissing. Having-” “I get what you mean!”, Makoto quickly said. “I just don't know. Maybe? Do you think they're gay?” Rin raised his eyebrows. “Do you think they're straight?” “...good point.”, Makoto admitted.  
“So, what about you?”, Rin asked like he was talking about the weather. Makoto gave him a confused look. “What do you mean?” “Which team do you play for?” “I...swim for our team, of course...?” Rin shook his head. “No, you idiot. I meant, what do you like?” “Uh, a lot of things, I suppose...swimming, mochi, fireworks, video games-” He was interrupted by a groaning Rin. “That's not what I mean. Makoto, what did we just talk about?” “We talked about...things I like?”  
Rin facepalmed.  
“Are you gay or not?!”  
“I-what?”, Makoto stammered, “Why are you asking that?” “So you are gay?” “That's not what I said!” “You didn't deny it though.” Rin sighed. “You see, I've known you for a pretty long time, a lot of girls liked you and you got so many love letters that I lost count, and yet you've never had a girlfriend. That does make you wonder, you know.” Rin put a hand on Makoto's shoulder. “Trust me, I won't judge, I'm just curious. There's nothing you gotta hide.”  
Makoto took a deep breath. “Alright. Yes, I am.” “So, who do you like?”, Rin asked with a smirk that was a bit too satisfied. Makoto turned around. “Hey, so, let's see how Nagisa and Rei are doing, what do you think?” “I think you're avoiding the topic.” “And I think we really should see if Rei has found any more purple glowing flying cats!”, Makoto said quickly, and ran out of the room. Rin shook his head and followed him.

Rei hadn't found any more purple glowing flying cats and was also pretty much back to normal, and Haru had finished dinner. Makoto was relieved to find that their conversations were actually normal when they ate together. Also, Nagisa talked so much that nobody realized how quiet Makoto was.  
“So.”, Rin said. “I brought a movie. Wanna watch it after dinner?” “Sure.”, Makoto replied. Movie. That sounded like something his friends wouldn't behave weird about. There had been something kind of odd about Haru lately, Nagisa was all about matchmaking now even though Makoto had told him that Haru liked Rin, and just ago Rei had been really, really weird too. At least Rin was normal. Mostly. Makoto didn't rely on that to last for the rest of the evening.  
When they started the movie, Makoto dropped into the corner of the sofa, and Rin froze as if his world was falling to pieces. He then sat at the other end of the couch, as if he was suddenly trying to have as much distance as possible from Makoto. Was it maybe because he just told him...? No, no way, Rin wouldn't- or would he? Makoto decided not to think about it. He had enough problems already as it was.  
Rei looked at them. “Uh, Rin-san, is there a particular reason why you sit so far from Makoto-senpai?” “Uh, no, I just sat down here, why?”, Rin asked, and raised his eyebrows. Rei looked around the room as if he was searching for an answer. “Uh. I...would appreciate it if I could sit in the corner of the sofa, maybe.” Rin shrugged, and moved a bit further to the middle. “Sure.” “Thank you.” Rei sat down, and looked at the gap between Rin and Makoto. “Would you mind moving a little further? I hoped Nagisa-kun could sit next to me.” “Ah, I thought maybe like this Haru could sit next to Makoto, you know...”, Rin answered, and papped the seat next to him. Nagisa dropped onto Rei's lap. “Yeah, Haru-chan should totally sit next to Mako-chan, I can sit here!” “No you can't!”, Rei shouted, but was ignored.  
When Haru took a seat between Rin and Makoto, a thousand thoughts raced through Makoto's head. Wow, they were really close right now. Pressed together. The couch probably wasn't made for four. Haru's skin was warm. He could feel his muscles. Was there any reason why Rin had wanted Haru to sit between them? Did Rin not want to sit this close to Makoto? Hadn't he been jealous that Makoto and Haru weren't hanging out with him as much? Were Nagisa and Rei really an item? Wow, it would be really nice to have Haru sitting on his lap now. What would Rin do if he found out Haru liked him? Was he the only straight person in this room? Could it be that if Rin was homophobic, he'd lose all his friends? Was Makoto really so obvious? Why was everyone behaving weird as hell?  
When the film was over, Makoto couldn't remember anything that had happened in it. Too many thoughts, too many questions, too few answers. And, too much physical contact with the approximately most attractive person in the world. How could one focus on a movie when his crush was pressed against him?  
By the end of it, Rin looked kind of disappointed. Whatever. Makoto was done wondering about why his friends were being weird.  
Makoto's last hopes for his friends to return back to normal were crushed in less than three minutes. “Man, I wonder what girls actually do at sleepovers.”, Rin said randomly. “I mean, we know the clichés: talking about boys, pillow fights, seven minutes in heaven...” When no one reacted, he cleared his throat and said again: “...seven minutes in heaven...” Nagisa squealed. “Oh, yeah, let's play seven minutes in heaven!” “Don't you usually play that when you have boys and girls?”, Makoto asked, even though everyone in the room's heterosexuality was at the very least questionable. Nagisa rolled his eyes. “Whatever, it will be fun! Come on!” He grabbed an empty bottle, and everyone sat into a circle, as if they had rehearsed it. Makoto sat with them, and sighed. “Alright...”  
The first time, the bottle landed on him. Of course. Everyone's eyes were sparkling as if that was a great success, only Haru's face was as stoic as ever. “Sooo, Mako-chan, who will you enter the closet with?”, Nagisa said giggling. Makoto, not very enthusiastically, spun the bottle again. There was some movement, Makoto could swear someone was making a fold in the carpet underneath, and Nagisa was stopping it with a drinking straw, but either way, the bottle landed right between Haru and Rin.  
“...it's totally on Haru-chan.”, Nagisa said quickly. “Off into the closet, you two!” “Hold on a second!”, Rei shouted. “It's definitely pointing at Rin-san!” “No, I think it points at Haru too...”, Rin said and gave Haru a push. “Off you go!” Makoto could swear he saw a wink. Rei jumped to his feet. “That's not true! You're just trying to talk your way out of it!” “No, but the bottle is clearly pointing at Haru.”, Rin said, shaking his head. “Right, Nagisa?” “Right!”, Nagisa answered and nodded. Rei groaned. “Hold on.” He left the room and came back a minute later with a ruler in his hand. “Let's see now.”, he said, and put the ruler in front of the bottle. It almost touched Rin's knee, and Rin inched a little further to the right. “See?”, Rei shouted. “It's pointing at Rin-san!” “No, you didn't put it there in a straight line.”, Rin responded. “You have to put it there like that, and now it points at Haru.” “You just moved the bottle!”, Rei yelled. “It was-” “Please, calm down everyone.”, Makoto finally intervened. “Let's just play something else, alright? No need to fight over a stupid game like this.” Rei, Rin and Nagisa glared at him. Finally, Haru stood up. “I agree.”, he simply said.  
Now, everyone looked at Haru, glared at him a few seconds, and then finally gave up. “Alright.”, Rin said. “It's just a stupid game, after all.” “Yeah.”, Rei said quickly. Nagisa pouted. “It's not stupid, but okay, let's just do something else.”  
Everyone looked at Makoto.  
Makoto realized they were expecting him to say something now.  
On other days, he would have, but right now, everyone was too weird to handle.  
“I...need to go to the bathroom.”, Makoto muttered, and ran out of the room.

So, there he was. Haru still liked someone else, Nagisa was still matchmaking, Rei was still being weird and Rin was still staying away from him. Could this sleepover get any worse?  
Makoto looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked tired. Duh. It was night, and he needed sleep. Also, he was tired of everyone being weird, and constantly having to wonder which of his friends he would still have in a month. Would he still be friends with Haru if Haru found out he had a crush on him? Could it really be that Rin didn't like him anymore because he liked boys? What would Rei do if the team were to fall apart?  
At least he could count on Nagisa. That, probably, was the reason why they were friends. Nagisa didn't care. Ever. Nobody got rid of Nagisa that easily.

Makoto took a deep breath, and left the bathroom.

Everyone was munching on pockies.  
Makoto sat down onto the couch. “Whose are those?”, he asked. Rin raised his hand. “Mine!”, he shouted with a pocky in his mouth. “Take as many as you want.” “Thanks!”, Makoto responded, and took one himself. Nagisa was munching on four at once. “We should totally play pocky!” “After what just happened, it's probably not such a good idea.”, Makoto responded, and nobody really seemed like they wanted to discuss the matter.  
The pocky-munching was pretty quiet. Makoto really hoped all this weirdness and awkwardness would be over after tonight.  
Rin casually leaned against the window. “Whoa, look, there really are many stars in the sky tonight!” Nagisa was next to him after less than a millisecond. “Yeah, totally! Wooow! We should go outside and have a look at them, right?” “Right!”, Rei shouted almost a little too enthusiastically. Makoto sighed. “Sure, why not?”

Rin did have a point, after all, there really were many stars. The sky was dark blue, with a sparkling layer across it, little pearls glowing brightly and spread all over the sheer infinity, further away than a human mind could comprehend. It really was a beautiful night, and even if everyone was being weird, somehow, Makoto was glad he could be here with all his friends. Yes, they were his friends after all. They wouldn't just leave him over something as stupid as a crush. Haru had been his best friend for so long, their friendship was too strong to break just like that. And even if Rin wasn't comfortable with Makoto's sexuality, he wouldn't just drop him like a hot potato. They were too close for that.  
And maybe, even if it seemed incomprehensible, maybe there actually was an explanation for everything that had happened tonight.  
“I'm cold. Let's go back inside, Rei-chan.”, Nagisa abruptly said, and pulled Rei back into the house. Makoto instantly knew that this was another of his matchmaking things. It didn't take another minute until Rin murmured something about watching out that Nagisa wouldn't break anything, and went inside too.  
And then he and Haru were alone.  
Silence can rarely be described with words. It was no different with the silence that now settled between Haru and Makoto.  
Even if he couldn't have him, Makoto at least wanted to capture this moment, to hold onto it forever, and never let go of it. He wanted time to stand still, to stay here forever, just watching the stars with the person most dear to him in his life.  
Something in his chest moved.  
“...Haru?”, Makoto finally said. Haru looked at him with the same dazzling blue eyes that greeted him daily, the same eyes he could lose himself in.  
And from that on, the words just left his mouth by themselves.  
“I'm...glad I can be here with you.”, Makoto whispered. “You're really, really important to me, and I want you to know that.” He smiled, just faintly, but in all honesty. “And, I want you to know that whatever happens, that won't change. I'm glad you're a part of my life, and I want it to stay that way. To swim with you, to be with you, it really makes me happy. But, what makes me happy the most, is to see you happy. So, I want you to be happy, that's the most important thing to me. Whoever you choose to spend your life with...please choose someone who will make you happy.”  
He hesitated.  
“That's all.”  
Haru looked at him with sparkling eyes. “Makoto.”, he said.  
Then there was a pause.  
“Thank you.” “Uhm, what for?”, Makoto asked. Haru looked him in the eyes, smiling ever so faintly, but just the fact alone that Haru was smiling made Makoto's heart skip a beat.  
“For being my friend.”  
There was a long silence, a comfortable, warm silence, as they looked into each other's eyes, under the sheer countless stars, smiling, just smiling, and for a moment blending out the entire world around them. There was nothing else that mattered right now.  
“I'm the same as you.”, Haru finally said. Makoto blinked in confusion. “Uh, what?” “I'm the same as you. I'm in love with someone who likes someone else.” That probably was Rin. Makoto nodded. “I know, I know.” “No, you don't.”, Haru responded coldly. Makoto flinched. “What do you mean?” “You don't know.”, Haru repeated.  
The questions were constantly becoming more, and the silence was suddenly cold and heavy.

It was finally time to sleep. Makoto couldn't say that he minded.  
Rin rummaged through his backpack. “Oh no, I think I forgot my sleeping bag!”, he shouted, and it sounded a little (a lot) like bad acting. Right that moment, Haru entered the room. “I can't find the second futon.”, he said dryly, and prepared the other futon on the floor.  
It took everyone a moment to realize the situation.  
“Wait, so we only have the sofa and one futon?”, Makoto finally asked. Nagisa shrugged. “Well, there's also Haru's bed...” “That means we're still lacking places for two!”, Makoto responded. “Except if we were to happen to find the second futon now, of course!” Nagisa crawled over to him, and whispered: “Sorry. Left it at home. Didn't think Rin-chan would forget his sleeping bag.” “Well he did!”, Makoto hissed.  
Well, the plan had been a train wreck from the beginning anyway, so it wasn't actually all that surprising.  
“Well, I'd say Mako-chan just sleeps in Haru-chan's bed!”, Nagisa exclaimed. Rin quickly nodded. “Yeah, that would really solve part of the problem now!” “But what about the fifth person?”, Makoto asked, trying to ignore their propositions. Nagisa shrugged. “I suppose I could share a futon with Rei-chan, and Rin-chan can take the sofa.” “Why don't Makoto-senpai and Rin-san share the futon instead?”, Rei asked. “You didn't even want to share a tent with me on the training trip from hell, so why now a futon?” “Why not? Also, I've never shared a bed with Haru-chan, but Mako-chan has!”, Nagisa protested, and sat down onto the futon. Rei shrugged. “Well, then it is about time you had your turn, right?” “Why don't you want to sleep with me?!”, Nagisa shouted. Rin shook his head. “I won't even start on what that sounded like. But, if Rei doesn't want to, I can share the futon with Nagisa.” “No no no, actually, maybe, since Nagisa is the shortest, he should sleep on the couch!”, Rei suddenly argumented. “It looks as if it would be quite uncomfortable for a taller person.” “And then, we'd share the futon?”, Rin asked. “Sure, alright.” “No, uh, I would share the bed with Haruka-senpai if you don't mind! I...my back has been hurting a little lately, so I shouldn't sleep on the floor.” “A futon's soft enough, you don't need a bed for that!”, Nagisa shouted. “Why are you trying to keep Mako-chan out of Haru-chan's bed?” “That is absolutely not what I am doing!”, Rei protested. “It rather seems that you are trying to push him into it!”  
“Now now, guys, no need to fight.”, Makoto said, and felt everyone's eyes on him. “No need to make this such a huge issue.” “I'm not making a huge issue out of it at all.”, Rin said, shrugging, and dropped onto the couch. “I'm just making suggestions.” “I'm sure we can solve this problem without yelling...”, Makoto continued, as Haru stepped forwards.  
“I'm going to sleep in the bathtub.”  
Everyone stared at him.  
“Ah, Haru, that's not necessary, and also I'm pretty sure it's not healthy either!”, Makoto quickly protested, but Haru shook his head. “I've slept in the bathtub before.” “You've what?!” “It's not a problem.”  
And, just like that, he walked out of the room.  
“...well.”, Rei finally said. “I suppose this means I take the futon, Nagisa-kun takes the couch and you two the bed?” “I thought you wanted a bed because of your back?”, Makoto asked, no more confused than he had been all evening anyway. Rei shrugged. “I...thing Nagisa-kun is right. A futon should be soft enough.”  
Nagisa plopped onto the sofa. “I guess I'm fine with that.”, he said, but did sound kind of disappointed. But, well, Makoto supposed Nagisa could deal with one night on the sofa. And, after all, he'd be fine sharing a bed with Rin, who had been the least stressful one that night.

“You really don't mind this?” It was probably a little late to ask that when he was already lying next to Rin, but he did it anyway. Rin turned over to face him and shrugged. “No, why?” “It's just...it was as if you were avoiding me all evening, after I told you. You know.”, Makoto explained. Rin looked at him in surprise. “Huh, really? I didn't mean to, sorry. I really don't mind that, you know, you're still my friend.”  
Relief flooded Makoto. He suddenly felt a little ashamed for doubting Rin for even a second. Of course, they still were friends, as if Rin would judge something like that.  
“You still haven't told me who you like, though.”, Rin suddenly blurted out. Makoto desperately tried to find a way to talk himself out of it. “See, it's...kind of...uh...I don't think you...” “You don't wanna tell me?”, Rin interrupted him. “That's alright, I suppose. But man, all this love stuff is really driving me crazy lately.” “Huh? Why?”, Makoto asked, and scooted a little closer. Rin sighed deeply. “Well, imagine your two best friends like the same person, and you want to help them, but you know if one of them gets happy, the other will be sad...and it doesn't help that those friends don't particularly like each other...” “Oh no, that sounds like an awful dilemma.”, Makoto whispered. “Do I know these friends?” “Well...yeah. It's Haru and Sousuke, actually, but I can't tell you who they like.”  
Haru.  
And Sousuke.  
Haru liked Rin.  
That meant, Sousuke liked Rin too?  
What if – what if Sousuke got together with Rin first? Maybe, Haru would-  
No. That was an awful, egoistic train of thoughts. In his mind, Makoto scolded himself for even thinking about it.  
“Well, I did try to support one of them, but nothing worked, so I suppose I'll just leave it be and see how it evolves, right?”, Rin asked, lying on his back. Makoto nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like the best decision.”  
This, most certainly, had been the weirdest sleepover of all times. But maybe, it wasn't the worst.  
Slowly, Makoto drifted into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I'm REALLY sorry I haven't been writing much, but school's been keeping me busy. I'm in my graduation year, so there's a lot to organize, and the austrian education system changes like all five minutes (srsly it's like politicians WANT students to hate them)  
> I'm soon gonna finish a huge school project though so I have hopes that I'll have more time by then! Let's hope for the best :)


	6. Even The Last Pure Souls Untouched By Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so sorry for not working on this for such a long time, I was focusing on my original work and also, graduation, moving and getting into university. Anyway, here it is! Thanks for staying with me!

“Hey, Nitori-senpai. Did you know that in the DDR, being gay wasn't actually illegal? I mean, it was discriminated and stuff, but the cops couldn't throw you in jail for that.” Momo pointed at his laptop screen, and Ai sighed. This had been going on for days now. “Oh, and check this out!”, Momo continued. “According to this statistic, one in ten men has had homoerotic thoughts!”  
Not that the fact itself was entirely uninteresting, but right now, Ai was trying to do his maths homework. And so should Momo. “Uhm, Mikoshiba-kun...don't you have homework?” Momo looked up from his laptop. “I'm already done. Well, except for some essay, but that one's not even due this week. Anyway, did you know that...”  
Ai tried his best to blend Momo's voice out. When did he start getting so obsessed with facts about homosexuality? Sure, it was good to be well-informed, but it was pointless to spend all afternoon clicking through wikipedia and some blogs made by angry teenagers full of random facts of which maybe half were true. And even if it was so interesting to him, couldn't he at least let Ai do his homework in peace?  
“Senpai, are you listening?” “I can't listen right now.”, Ai replied. “I'm trying to do homework.” Momo appeared behind Ai and glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, you actually are. Is that maths? That looks like hell. Anyway...” Ai gave up, and shut his book. Maths homework wasn't due tomorrow, so he guessed he could just procrastinate it once in his life.  
“Isn't all that interesting?” “Well, actually...” Ai sighed. “It isn't really to me.”  
Momo took a moment to process that. “Oh.”, he said.  
An awkward silence settled between them, and Ai wondered whether he should have said something else, maybe something more considerate. Should he have thought more about Momo's feelings? Yeah, probably. Because when in doubt, Ai would always rather blame himself than anyone else.  
“Hey, Senpai. Can I ask you something?”, Momo asked. Ai nodded. “Yes, sure.” Momo leaned closer to Ai, and lowered his voice. “Do you...like anyone?”  
Ai scooted a little further away from Momo. “I...don't really want to talk about that.” “Come on! I'll keep it a secret!”, Momo pressed, and came closer again. Ai moved away once more. “Please, stop it...I...it's a secret. From everyone. I-I can't tell you!” “Why? Because it's a boy...?” Momo's face came too close, and Ai leaned back as far as he could.  
With a bang, the chair fell over.  
Ai slowly sat up again, and rubbed his head. “Ow...”  
Momo grinned sheepishly. “Uhm, sorry about that. Are you okay?” “Yeah...I think...”  
Momo offered him a hand, Ai took it and stood up. Momo, however, didn't let go of that hand. “Senpai.” “Yes?” “You know that you don't have to keep secrets from me. I would never judge you. Also, I probably know more about you than you think.”  
That was sort of sweet, except for the last part. That just sounded creepy.  
“Thank...you...?”, Ai stuttered confusedly, waiting for Momo to let go of his hand already.

When Gou arrived at home, the first thing she did was drop head first on the couch.  
Someone papped her head. “What's wrong, Nee-chan?” Gou looked up. Rin stood in front of her. “Nii-chan? You're home?” “Yeah. Needed a time-out.”, he answered, and sat down next to her. “You look kind of frustrated.” “These boys...”, Gou growled. Rin sighed. “Tell me about it. They're such a mess lately.” “Exactly!”, Gou shouted. “They are – such – a – mess. And SO frustrating. Today, Nagisa held back Rei so they'd be late, and you wanna know why? So that he and Rei would change separately! How does that make sense?”  
Rin, for some reason looked, as if he had had some sort of epiphany. Gou didn't really care. She was complaining right now, and Rin was listening. That was his job as a good brother.  
“Anyway. For some reason, Rei kept asking Makoto about you, I really don't get why. And when I left for a short time, Nagisa and Rei were gone. Apparently Nagisa forgot something in the changing room, but he didn't have it when he got back anyway, so that probably wasn't true – and he took Rei with him to help him look or something. It was totally just an excuse! What's wrong with him?” She groaned. “Oh, and have I mentioned that Makoto keeps spacing out? And Haru is in one of his 'fuck practice I'm only here to escape in water from reality'-phases. Seriously, I can't work with them right now!”  
She sighed into a pillow, then looked at Rin again. “Do you know if something's up with them? I mean, they're usually a bit weird, but this isn't normal.”  
Rin shrugged. “I don't really-” He stopped mid-sentence. “Well, actually, I know about something, but I don't know if it's okay to tell you.” “It totally is.”, Gou said quickly. “I mean, you have to be able to tell me at least something. You don't have to be too specific, if you don't want.”  
Rin furrowed his brows. “Hmm...”, he said. “I guess I can tell you this much, I know that two members of the team are in love with each other, but for some reason, they can't get it together and get together.”  
Gou jumped to her feet, still on the couch. “Are you serious?!”, she yelled. Rin nodded. “I am, I am, and there's some love triangle stuff involved, and honestly, I can't stand to look at that anymore. It's too frustrating, and I don't really know what to do anyway.”  
Gou jumped off the sofa. “Well, luckily, you have me! I can solve this problem!” “But you don't even know who-” “But Nii-chan!”, Gou shouted. “That is so obvious! Anyone could see that!” Rin seemed like he wanted to protest, but then didn't. “I suppose you're right.”, he groaned. “Just don't get me involved, alright?”  
Gou was already running to her room. She had to make plans. Romance plans.  
Really, she should have guessed it. Of course! That was the reason why Nagisa was acting so weird lately, why he wanted to change alone with Rei and took him away to go looking for some thing that didn't even exist!  
Nagisa and Rei were in love!

Rin was a busy person. One day, it was time to visit his family, the other, he had extra training, and the next, Kisumi came over. Not that Kisumi was supposed to spend time with him, but Rin had to make sure that there was at least a chance for something to happen between Sousuke and Kisumi.  
Really, if Haru and Makoto ever managed to get together, he at least wanted his friend to have an option.  
Truly, he was already super annoyed by all this romance stuff, and had decided to stop meddling, but this was something he just had to do. Sousuke was too important to him to just leave him hanging like that.  
Kisumi arrived soaked. “Hey Rin!”, he greeted, grinning with a brilliant smile. “I got surprised by the rain.” “I see that.”, Rin murmured. “Hold on, I'll get you a towel.”  
Meanwhile, you and Sousuke can start a conversation, Rin thought.  
To his surprise, they actually were talking when he returned with a towel. It had...worked? That was new.  
“Here, your towel.”, Rin said, and gave it to Kisumi. “Thanks.”, Kisumi sighed, and dried his cotton candy-hair. “It just started raining when I almost was here, and I thought I wouldn't get too wet until I'd arrive, but I was so wrong...it's really nice to see you two again though! Been too long since we've actually hung out. How is everything going?”  
Then, the usual smalltalk started. Rin at first didn't really care, but Kisumi was right, it was nice to hang out again. Maybe, after all this was settled, he'd invite him again to actually hang out.  
Rin decided it was time for him to leave those to alone now. He took out his mobile, and gave it a quick look without even unlocking it. “So, Nitori just sent me a text and asked me to come to his room.”, he lied. “He probably needs help with something. Shouldn't take too long...do you mind if I...” “Go ahead, go ahead.”, Kisumi said with a smile. “If your kouhai needs you, go help him.”  
Rin put the mobile back in his pocket. “Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes.” A lot of minutes, he thought to himself.  
Only when he left the room, he realized that he didn't have any plans on where to actually go.  
Swimming pool? No. Too risky. Kisumi and Sousuke couldn't find out he sneaked away, that would look like he didn't want to hang out with them. Now that he thought about it, it probably was the smartest thing to really go to Ai's room. He knew he was always welcome there.

Ai groaned, and threw another can into the trash. Momo always left his stuff lying around: Old food he'd forgotten in his bag that was going bad, school books, worn underwear, pencils that were nearly used up, empty bottles and cans, books about beetles and even porn magazines. And who had to clean everything up? Ai.  
He jumped when someone knocked on the door, and rushed to open it.  
“Uh, hi. Can I...come in here for a bit?”, Rin asked with an awkward smile.  
Ai nearly fainted.  
“Of course, of course! You can always come in here, Senpai!”, he squealed. “I'm sorry there's such a chaos here, Mikoshiba-kun always makes such a mess...I keep telling him to be more organized but he won't listen...” Rin chuckled, and closed the door behind him. “That's okay.”  
He picked up the cover of what used to be a porn magazine, now all pages were probably separate. “This yours?” “Wha- No! That's Mikoshiba-kun's!”, Ai shouted, snatched it and threw it into the trash as quickly as possible. “Uh, if it's okay to ask...why are you here?” Rin shrugged. “Oh, well, Sousuke has a visitor, and...” He sighed. “I guess it's better to give the two of them some time on their own. So I thought I could come visit you for a bit.”  
Ai knew for sure that Rin wasn't telling him everything. After all, Rin totally was in love with Sousuke, right? Or was it just Sousuke who was in love with Rin? No, Rin seemed so stressed out, and that was probably because his crush was getting it on with someone else. Poor, poor Rin!  
“Are you okay?”, Ai blurted out. Rin shrugged. “I've been better, lately my friends are a bit frustrating. Nothing to worry about though. I hope.” Ai swallowed. “Are...are you sure? If you need anything...” “It's just some love triangle bullshit, not the end of the world.”, Rin interrupted him. Oh, so Ai really was right! Rin was in a love triangle! And, right now, it wasn't looking too great for him. He surely felt terrible! Ai felt the need to at least do something.  
He did the only logical thing, and pulled Rin into a close hug.  
Rin sounded confused. “...Ai? What are you doing?” Ai suppressed a squeal which was hard when Rin actually called him Ai, and instead tried to explain. “Well, you just...seemed to be down. And you look so stressed out lately, so I thought – maybe...” Rin chuckled. “So at least you're normal...this is getting a bit awkward though, so...” He took a step away.  
That was a bad decision.  
Rin's foot landed on another page of the remains of Momo's porn magazine, his foot slipped away, and he fell over front first. Before Ai knew what was happening, he landed squished between Rin and luckily, the mattress of the bed, otherwise that could have ended pretty painfully.  
Rin raised his head. “Sorry about that. Wow, you really have a bad mess here...”

Momo munched on a chocolate bar while carrying another ten in his bag. He had been running out of sugar supplies, which was fatal for a person like him, so he had quickly gone to the next store and bought some chocolate bars.  
Of all the things he expected to find in his room, THAT was the last one. (It was on the list, though.)  
When he came in, Rin was lying on top of Ai, on the bed. Ai went pale when he saw Momo. “Wait! I can explain!”, he shouted, but Momo quickly waved it off. “Don't worry about that. I, uh, I'll go to Suzuki-kun's room for a bit. Maybe an hour. Maybe even two.” Ai quickly shook his head while Rin had finally realized their situation and was getting off his kouhai. “Wait, it's not what you think it-”  
Momo shut the door.  
It wasn't like he hadn't known Ai was gay. And, that he had something going on with Rin was really no surprise. Maybe, at the very beginning of the school year, Momo would have had a problem, but at this point Ai was such an important friend that he decided without any reluctance that he would accept him as he was. No need to change anything about their friendship because of it. It was Ai after all. He'd probably be super ashamed of any sexual thoughts if he ever had any at all.  
As long as no one would try to steal Rin from Ai, it would be totally fine.  
Totally.

Makoto had gotten a text.  
[Hey Makoto!], it read. [Not sure if you have my number – this is Kisumi. So, I've been thinking, why don't we all meet up? You, me, Haru, Rin, Sousuke, since you guys are friends now (you are, right?), we should totally hang out together! Why don't you bring the rest of your team too? I'd love to meet them! From what you and Rin told me, they seem like nice guys. I thought maybe this Friday evening, at the beach. If that doesn't work, we can try to find another time. Sound good?]

Makoto had already written a reply.  
[Sounds great! We all have time. See you on Friday then!]  
There would be a time when he would regret this.

Sometimes, such chaos is solved by proper communication.  
Sometimes, it goes very, very wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I'm going to divide the rest into two chapters, or keep it at one. There won't be too much more though.  
> Also, it's 2am now. I read over it again but I probably missed some mistake, so, you know the deal, just let me know if something's wrong. I'm gonna write the rest whenever I get my laptop, and my old data.
> 
> Edit: Brace yourselfes, NaNoWriMo is coming. I'm participating with an original work, meaning I won't have any time to work on Free! Eternal Chaos until December. I'm planning to finish it before the end of the year though, so hold on just a little longer!


	7. Collective Chaos Crysis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this took me so long. I have no excuse. For some time my English writing suddenly went down in quality and instead of just trying harder or trying to get back into it I just waited until I could sorta deal. Please forgive me, and enjoy this chapter. I promise I won't take this long for the final one.

To be fair, Friday wasn't a total disaster. No, that's a lie. It was. But it also had it's good points. A few at least.

One was that actually everyone was getting together, including Kisumi, who was happy to see them all. It had been too long! Rin and Sousuke, he had been so happy when they had invited him, and Makoto – and Haru of course! His dear old middle school friend, cold and stoic as ever, but Kisumi was sure that somewhere deep inside Haru felt that friendship too. Totally.

What Kisumi did notice though was that everyone was behaving sort of...strange. The first ones to arrive was the Samezuka team. Rin and Sousuke were looking like they were thinking about something really hard. The silver haired kid whatwashisname looked at them dreamily. The other kid then shoved silver haired kid and silver haired kid stumbled into Rin. Other kid winked. Kisumi decided not to question it.

Anyway, Kisumi was having a great time. And at first, the evening went really well. Everyone seemed to have fun...kinda. They were behaving strange, but Kisumi had just accepted the fact that his friends were weird. Especially Haru. But that was why he liked them.

However, all of a sudden, everything started going south.

Sousuke had walked away from the others together with Rin and Makoto, only to suddenly leave the two of them alone. Then, the brown haired kid – Kisumi had learned that his name was Momotarou Mikoshiba – suddenly got angry at Sousuke.

“Hey, what the fuck, dude?!”, he shouted. Sousuke turned around, obviously confused.

“...what.”

“Are you trying to hook them up or something?”, Mikoshiba yelled.

Sousuke shrugged. “Well, I- Yeah, actually I am.”

Now Kisumi was confused. He decided to see what was going on over there.

“What?!”, the small Mikoshiba shouted. “Don't you ever consider other people's feelings?!” “Other people's feelings is why I'm doing this!”, Sousuke shouted back.

It was then when Makoto and Rin came and got inbetween them.

“Why are you guys yelling?”, Rin asked in his team captain voice. Mikoshiba didn't answer and threw a tantrum instead. “Senpai, I thought you were more loyal than this!”

Somehow, this seemed to actually inform Rin. “No, not you too!”, he shouted full of frustration, and facepalmed. Makoto seemed like he wanted to ask Rin what he meant, but the angry kid was faster.

“And you!”, he yelled at Makoto. “You're the other team's captain, right?! I thought you were better than that!”

“Better than what?” Makoto looked so irritated Kisumi started feeling sorry for him.

“Stealing other people's boyfriends!”, Mikoshiba yelled. Makoto shook his head. “I have no idea what you're talking about....”

Kisumi wanted to stop them already, but in that moment, the rest of his friends arrived too. “What's going on?”, the glasses guy asked – Ryuugazaki Rei was his name, if Kisumi remembered correctly. The answer came from Mikoshiba, not in a particularly low volume. “This Tachibana guy is trying to steal Rin-senpai away from Nitori-senpai!"

“I'm doing...what? What do you even mean by that?” Makoto seemed just desperate at that point. Not that Mikoshiba would realize that. “You know exactly what I mean! Man, I never thought you'd be the kind of person to steal other people's boyfriends.”

“Wait, what?”, the Nitori kid threw in.

Mikoshiba smiled at him like a gracious movie hero. “Don't worry Senpai, I averted it. Nobody will be stealing your Rin.

Nitori looked like a confused puppy. “But...Rin and I aren't boyfriends...”, he murmured.

Everyone went silent for a few seconds.

“...you're not?”, Mikoshiba finally asked.

Nitori shook his head. “No! We're not!”, he shouted. “Rin and Sousuke are-” As if he had just said something really bad, he covered his mouth in panic. “I'm so sorry!”, he cried. “I didn't mean to tell them! It just kind of slipped!” He clung to Rin's arm. “Please...forgive me! Please...”

Rin looked at the wheeping child that apparently was attached to his body now and did not seem like it could be taken away from there ever. “I don't even know what you mean.”, he said. “Sousuke and I are...what?”

Sousuke stepped in too. “Yeah, could you explain?”

Ai suddenly looked two inches smaller. “Well...”, he stuttered, “Uh....” He let go of Rin's arm and gave him a guilty look. “I thought that you two, uhm, that, well, there was something, uhm...”

Rin sighed. “Alright, I get it.” He crossed his arms. “Nitori, we are not boyfriends.” Sousuke snickered. “Yeah, duh.”

“Figures.”, Makoto muttered to himself.

Rin turned around to him. “What did you say?” Makoto flinched. “Oh, nothing.” He put on his usual Makoto grin.

Mikoshiba snapped out of his embarassment and came back to life. “Okay, why are you pulling this sad muttering to yourself shit now?”, he shouted, as if he only had the volume settings “silent” and “loud”. He threw his arms into the air. “Aren't you happy that Rin is free?”

Makoto was too confused to say anything, but his face carried a clear message, and that message was “???”.

Mikoshiba seemed to get honestly annoyed. “I mean, you were so trying to get it on with him just ago.”, he spat out. “Yamazaki-kun was trying to hook you up!”

“You were?”, Makoto asked.

“Sousuke, what?!”, Rin shouted.

Sousuke went red, and took a step back. “Okay, I read your messages.”, he confessed. “I'm sorry for sniffing.”

Rin gave him a long stern look.

Then he shook his head. “That doesn't explain anything.”

The plot thickens, Kisumi thought, who had given up following the conversation about ten paragraphs ago.

Sousuke made some awkward gestures. “I read what you and Makoto were writing each other. You know, that cornychrmhmhmhm. That 'romantic' stuff.”

Makoto tilted his head. “What stuff?”

Rin covered his face in his hands as if this all was too stupid to even look at. “Oh god.”, he muttered.

Sousuke rolled his eyes, but seemed honestly concerned. “I'm sorry, okay?”, he pressed.

Rin shook his head, and uncovered at least part of his face. “Sousuke...that wasn't my phone.”, he explained. “That was Haru's.”

Sousuke's eyes widened in shock. “Wait, so Nanase....NANASE wrote all that stuff?”, he shouted.

Haru suddenly realized he could actually talk. “What stuff?”, he asked. A question Kisumi had started wondering about too. Whatever could they have written that it was so shocking and secret and would make someone want to hook up someone else? Kisumi looked at the rating of the fan fic. It was not an 18+ fan fic he was in. Or was it?

“No, I did.”, Rin admitted. “I wanted to hook them up, okay? And they weren't getting anywhere, so I stole Haru's mobile and sent Makoto some messages.”

Makoto sunk deeper into confusion, though it was a miracle that that was still possible. “What messages?”

Of all people, the small blond one, Nagisa, suddenly made a face, as if everything had just started making sense. “Oh. OHHH.”, he said. “That explains a lot.”

With an expression that clearly already knew what was going on, Rin turned around. “....Nagisa...?”

Nagisa grinned sheepishly. “I kinda did the same thing with Makoto's phone.”

Makoto grabbed Nagisa. “You stoly my phone?”, he cried.

Rei adjusted his glasses, though he probably only pretended to do so so he could look cool. “So all this time you were trying to hook up Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai? Why?”

“Because they're totally in love with each other!”, Nagisa shouted just a bit too happily to fit into the conversation. Then he flinched. “Oops, I said it.”, he laughed, and stuck out his tongue.

Kisumi thought he could see Haru and Makoto blush, but maybe it was just his imagination.

Rei crossed his arms. “But Makoto is in love with Rin!” “I'm not!”, Makoto yelled.

Gou scratched her head. “Wait, I thought you did that weird stuff because you were in love with Rei.”

Rei spun around. “That was the reason why you were trying to get rid of the two of us?!”

“Sort of...”, Gou murmured, and slowly backed out.

Everyone went quiet.

“Wait.”, Kisumi finally said. “What is happening? Who is in love with who?” Because, at this point, making any sense of the conversation was just impossible.

Everyone stared at each other for a minute, as if they all were trying to figure out the answer to that.

“Well, I don't know.”, Mikoshiba finally said. “If Rin-senpai and Nitori-senpai aren't...”

“I....thought Sousuke and Rin were but...”, Nitori continued.

Sousuke shook his head. “Yeah, total nonsense. Can't blame you though, I thought Rin liked Makoto.”

Rin nodded. “Yeah but I- Hold on.Is THAT why you were so keen on inviting him? I thought you liked him!”

Sousuke only facepalmed as an answer, and really, he did not need say more.

Rei sighed. “Well, all I know is that someone called me specifically to tell me that Rin-san and Makoto-senpai are in love with each other.”

Rin looked like an angry shark. “Sousuke....?”

Sousuke put his hands up in defense. “Let's not do this.”

Kisumi laughed. “Wow, you guys sure are complicated.”, he joked, in a poor attempt to lighten up the conversation. “I can hardly keep track of all this...”

Sousuke shrugged. “I'm not sure if there even is anything there to actually keep track of...”

Nagisa jumped in like the hyperactive ball of energy he was. “Yes there is!”, he shouted. “Mako-chan really does like Haru-chan!”

Kisumi decided to join him in being an absolute dick to Makoto right now. “You do?”, he asked.

“I....”, Makoto stuttered, obviously uncomfortable.

“I knew it!”, Rin yelled before Makoto could say anything more.

“But that doesn't matter, right?”, Makoto said with a weak smile. “I mean, it wouldn't, hypothetically. If I did. Because Haru likes Rin...”

Rin's voice reached a volume that Kisumi did not expect to be possible for a human being. “I AM SO DONE WITH YOU.”, he screamed. “THAT'S BULLSHIT.”

“It is?”, Makoto asked, growing smaller second by second.

Haru nodded. “It is.”

Makoto went dark red. “But...who do you like then?”

Haru didn't answer.

Rin's voice reached a galactic level. “GOD FUCKING DAMNIT HARU. I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”

“Take what anymore?”, Kisumi asked. Had they not established that everything was just a huge misunderstanding?

Mikoshiba plucked Makoto's sleeve. “Wait, so you weren't trying to get it on with Rin-senpai?”, he asked. Nagisa grabbed his wrist. “Of course not! He likes Haru-chan!”

Haru's face turned bright pink. “Is that true?” “That...uh...I...”, Makoto stuttered, his face the colour of a very ripe tomato. All eyes were on him. Nagisa pushed him. “Just tell him!” “I...”, Makoto stuttered again. Everyone stared even more intensely. “Makoto?”, Haru asked. Rin rolled his eyes. “Makoto, please.” Makoto stumbled backwards. “I...” He gulped.

“JUST STOP ALREADY!”, he screamed.

Everyone went silent.

Kisumi suddenly noticed that Makoto was not just embarrassed. He was breathing heavily, clenching his jaws and there were tears in his eyes. Maybe, Kisumi slowly realized, maybe they had just gone a little too far.

Everyone looked at Makoto, and Makoto looked back. Slowly, he tried to put a fake smile on. “I'm sorry.”, he said incredibly quietly. “I didn't mean to yell. This is just...getting a bit out of hand.”

Nobody knew what to say.

“I'm getting tired...”, Makoto continued. “Maybe I should head home." Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and walked away. Nobody followed him. Everyone was too dumbfounded.

Finally, Kisumi raised his voice. “Can someone just explain what the fuck just happened?”, he asked.

His question went unanswered, but it seemed to remind the others that they, in fact, were able to speak.

“Haru, why didn't you just tell him?”, Rin asked. Nagisa jumped like a rubber ball. “Tell him what?” “That he likes him back!”, Rin answered, sweating from the sheer frustration.

Sousuke stopped him. “Hold on. No more assumptions.”

“That's not an assumption!”, Rin defended himself. “Haru actually told me! Right, Haru?”

It took Haru a long time to answer. “...right.”, he finally confessed, and hid behind his emo hair.

Kisumi crossed his arms and tried to act smart. “So...Haru is in love with Makoto...?” “Yeah.”, Rin answered for Haru.

Gou put her hands on her hips. “Do you have a problem with that?”, she hissed. Kisumi shrieked. “No! I'm just trying to figure out what's happening here!”

“To sum it up”, Rin explained, “Haru is in love with Makoto, and Makoto is in love with Haru.” Kisumi nodded, that he understood. “And why did Makoto just leave crying?”

“MAKO-CHAN IS CRYING?”, Nagisa yelled in the most high pitched voice Kisumi had ever heard from a boy that (allegedly) had passed puberty.

“I thought I saw...”, he murmured, suddenly feeling concerned.

Gou snorted. “He's crying because all of you are so chaotic and ruined it with your...I don't even know what that is! Matchmaking?” “Hey, you're no better!”, Mikoshiba spat back. Gou rolled her eyes. “At least I didn't blurt out someone else's crush like Nagisa!” “Are you trying to blame it all on me now?!”, Nagisa cried.

Rin pushed them apart. “Guys! Stop!” “Well, maybe I am?”, Gou squealed. Nagisa looked honestly offended. “I was just trying to help! I would never make Mako-chan cry on purpose!!”

Rin and Sousuke nodded at each other. Then, Rin grabbed Gou, and Sousuke grabbed Nagisa. “Look.”, Rin said as ominous and serious as possible. “I don't care whose fault this is. You fix this.” He looked at his friends. “All of you.”

Everyone looked at the ground.

“I'm staying here with Haru, the rest of you goes looking for Makoto.”, Rin ordered. Kisumi took out his mobile. “I'll try to reach him on the phone.” “Sounds good.”, Rin said. “The rest of you, go.”

In that exact moment, thunder roared in the distance. Rin looked up to see grey clouds covering the sky.

“You might want to hurry.”, he added.


	8. The End of an Eternity

The rain didn't wait for them to finish searching. Hell, the rain didn't even wait for them to begin searching, they had hardly split into groups when it suddenly started pouring down like every single raindrop in the world had decided it wanted to hit this particular beach.

They had decided to go look for Makoto in pairs: Nagisa and Rei were searching the beach and area around it in one direction, Sousuke and Nitori would go the other direction, and Gou and Momo would go to Makoto's place and see if he was there. Rin, Haru and Kisumi were staying at the beach, where Kisumi repeatedly tried to call Makoto on his phone, but Makoto wouldn't pick up.

And so they ran.

 

“Mako-chaaaan!”, Nagisa called into the dark. It had been pretty late already, but with all these clouds, one could think it was the middle of the night. The waves grew bigger and bigger and began to look like monsters with huge fangs, roaring like dragons and attacking the beach as an army, an endless black mass of salty water, ready to swallow whoever dared to go too far.

Oh, they had been there. He and Rei, Haru and Makoto, that one horrible night at the training camp, where two of them almost died.

Nagisa remembered it all just too well – a hell of water, wind and salt where he didn't know where up and down was, where it seemed like the world was constantly turning over and back again, and the sea became a monster. Hurting eyes, tired body, dry throat, and he knew that it had been even worse for Rei and Makoto. That was not a night he wanted to repeat.

That was enough to make even Nagisa worry.

“Mako-chaaaan!”, he screamed again. No answer. Of course. Even if Makoto was here, he was probably mad at Nagisa...

Nagisa poked Rei's arm. “Say.”, he said. “Do you think I shouldn't have done that? I mean, said that.” Rei shrugged. “I don't know. Probably not. But worrying about it now won't get you anywhere, focus on looking for Makoto-senpai instead, and apologize to him later.” And thus he started shouting again. “Makoto-senpaiiii!!”

Nagisa gulped and looked at his feet. “I don't know.”, he murmured. “I mean, I really didn't mean to make him cry or run away or, well, any of this! But this is really bad. I know, sometimes I make people mad and stuff, but it's never so bad, and I never really thought I should change it, but...this is horrible. I'm...worried. And maybe it's my fault?”

He bit his lip, and suddenly felt like crying. “Like...I'm a clingy person, you know? And sometimes people get fed up with me. I think that's why Haru-chan and Mako-chan are so important to me, they never disliked me for that. Not even Gou-chan, even though I tease her all the time. But, I'm thinking...what if I fucked up this time? Could be that I got Mako-chan in real danger because I'm so insensible! What if that crossed the line? And even if it didn't, what if Mako-chan got seriously hurt? I...don't think I could talk to him like this anymore. Gou-chan kind of was right...it is my fault, I told everyone. I shouldn't have.” He sobbed. “I fucked up.”

The realization hit him like a fist in the stomach. It was his fault. It was all his fault.

And it started a chain reaction.

All of a sudden, every single little thing came flooding into his mind, every single time he had done something wrong, every single time he had made someone mad, every single time someone had become fed up with him.

“Rei-chan...”, he whispered. “Can you do me a favour? Can you tell me that everything's gonna be okay? I think I kind of need that now.”

There was no response.

“Rei-chan...?”, Nagisa asked again, and looked up. Looked around him. And froze in shock.

There was no one there.

 

Sousuke and Nitori had been walking along the beach, shouting “Tachibana-kun!” and “Where are you?” repeatedly, with zero success. Sousuke realized he was shivering, being in a storm with Summer-y clothes wasn't what he'd call ideal. Luckily, he was pretty tough, so at worst he'd catch a cold and be over that in three days. Not that a cold would hold him back anyway. No, Sousuke was more worried about his kouhai.

Nitori.

At the beginning, Nitori had screamed Tachibana's name so loudly that Sousuke was surprised that boy's voice could even reach such a volume. But he had grown quieter. For a while, to a normal volume, then a bit lower, and even quieter, and now, his voice was weak and pathetic.

He stumbled along the beach, through the rain, and looked drained. For a second, he staggered to one side, where his feet splashed into the water. Sousuke sighed and turned away again. Then turned back a second later.

That actually had looked really bad.

“Nitori-kun!”, he shouted. “Are you okay?”

Nitori looked at him in surprise and nodded. “Yeah, I'm..”

He fell over before he could finish, face first into the wet sand. A wave rolled over him. Sousuke waited.

Nitori didn't stand up.

Sousuke hurried over to him. “Nitori-kun!”, he shouted. “Are you okay?!”

Groaning, Nitori raised his head. “Ughhhhh” was his answer.

“Nitori-kun! What the hell? I thought you were dying for a moment!”, Sousuke yelled, and got on his knees. Cold water swashed over his legs, and over Nitori. “And I'm pretty sure you're not okay! What's going on?!”

Nitori coughed. “Uhm, well....I kind of...I've been sick for a few days, but I didn't want to miss practice, and I...I didn't tell you or Rin-senpai because I was scared...you wouldn't let me practice...”

“And let me guess, practicing didn't make it better?! Nitori-kun, you're an idiot!”, Sousuke shouted. “Okay, let's get you back. Can you walk?”

Nitori nodded, and got up on his feet. His legs were shaky. “I'm...sorry....”, he murmured. Sousuke sighed. “Don't apologize now. Let's just go.”

Nitori nodded, and stumbled a few steps forward, before falling again. This time, Sousuke caught him. “Sorry...”, Nitori whispered. His skin was burning hot.

“That's it.”, Sousuke groaned. “I'm carrying you.” “I'm...sorry...”, Nitori murmured again, and his voice grew weaker. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...”

“Shut up.”, Sousuke hissed, and took the boy on his back. He felt arms loosely wrapping around his neck, as if they didn't have the energy to properly hold on anymore.

“That bad, huh?”, Sousuke sighed. Nitori buried his face in his senpai's shirt. “I'm...sorry...”

Sousuke looked around. Okay, bringing Nitori back, he could do that. How far were they away from the others? The beach was pretty broad in this area so they had ended up going back and forth for a while so there was no way they'd miss Tachibana-kun if he was here. They...probably weren't too far from the others.

But...which way had they come from again?

 

Momo and Gou didn't talk. Since they had left, they hadn't said a single word.

They weren't really looking for Makoto, they were just checking if he had gone home. And, if Gou was honest, she wished so badly they'd just find him there.

“I'm...sorry.”, Momo suddenly said. He was quiet, and didn't even look at Gou. It was so unlike him.

“Hmm?”, Gou made. “About what?”

“I yelled at you. I feel kind of bad about that.”, Momo confessed.

“Oh! Don't worry about that.”, Gou answered. “I'm not mad or anything. Really, I feel just as bad. I shouldn't have acted that way, yelling at Nagisa without caring for his feelings.” She looked at her feet. “Or Makoto's. It was just about me, but...this isn't about me. This is about our friends, and we hurt them. So now we're making it alright.”

“Yeah.” Momo nodded. “It's gonna be fine.”

Gou pointed at a house at the bottom of some stairs. “There it is! I really hope he's in there.”

Momo smiled at her. “I'm sure he is.”

He rang the doorbell. A woman opened. “Uhm, hello? Oh, Matsuoka-san! And...uh...” “Mikoshiba.”, Momo introduced himself. “Pleasure to meet you, madam.”

“We're looking for Makoto-kun.”, Gou explained. “Is he home?”

“I'm sorry, no. He went out with friends this evening. They should be at the beach...” She looked at the cloudy sky with worry. “I hope they're fine though. The storm came pretty sudden. Well, they probably just went inside.”

She looked back at the kids. “But I'm sorry. He's not here. Maybe you could try calling him?”

“Uhm, sure...”, Gou answered. “Thank you very much. We'll be leaving then.”

The woman nodded. “Okay. Be careful in this weather!”

 

The two of them stared at the closed door for what felt like hours, before Gou finally turned around. “Let's get back.”, she said quietly.

Momo nodded. “Okay.”

They walked back, and they were silent again. Gou tried to keep her thoughts together, to stay sane, but her mind worked against her. She knew Makoto wasn't stupid, and would try to stay out of danger. But still, pictures popped up in her head, of Makoto trembling alone somewhere between dunes, of him slipping on the street and being run over by a car, of his dead body being washed onto the beach. She couldn't stand it.

“Gou-chaaaaaaaan!”, a voice yelled. A very familiar voice. It made Gou snap out of her thoughts.

“Nagisa-kun?”

Nagisa come racing along the street and right into her arms. “Gou-chaaan!”, he cried. “I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so glad I found you!”

“Nagisa-kun...”, Gou murmured. “What's wrong?” “I lost Rei!”, Nagisa sobbed. “He was suddenly gone and I was alone and I couldn't find him or Makoto and uaaaaah!”

Gou patted Nagisa's head. “Don't worry. It's gonna be okay. I'm sure Rei-kun just went back to the others.”

“You think?”, Nagisa mumbled. Gou nodded. “Yeah. It's all gonna be fine. Let's go.”

 

Sousuke was walking in some direction, and he didn't know whether it was the right one. The boy on his back was getting weaker, and heavier, with every step.

If he went into the wrong direction, and Nitori would get worse, was it his fault? Or was it Nitori's, for coming even though he was sick? Or maybe it was Makoto's, for running off in the first place? But wouldn't that mean it was Nagisa's fault, for making him run off? Or Momo's, for initiating the entire escalation? Or all these people who tried to play matchmaker in the most ridiculous ways? Or was whoever started this matchmaking chaos to blame?

Sousuke groaned. One thing was for sure, and that was, that this question was pointless. It didn't matter who was to blame. All that mattered was that it somehow turned out well.

Suddenly, somewhere far away, Sousuke heard voices. It wasn't Makoto, and it wasn't Rin or Kisumi or Haru, but they were familiar.

“Mikoshiba?!”, he shouted. “Matsuoka-san? Hazuki-kun?!”

“Yamazaki-kun?!”, a voice answered.

Sousuke didn't hesitate one more second, and ran.

 

They all finally returned to where Kisumi and Rin were waiting. Rei was there too, and the second Nagisa saw him, he ran right into his arms and burst into tears. Meanwhile, Rin wrapped a blanket around Nitori, and Kisumi called someone to come and drive the sick boy home.

“Well, at least we all made it back here.”, Gou sighed. Rin shook his head. “No, Haru's still gone.”

“But...wasn't he here with you?”, Gou asked. Rin nodded. “Yeah. Then he mumbled something about walking here every day, and ran off. Couldn't reach him on his phone either, he probably left it at home.”

He looked at the others. “But we can't send out another search party. Let's just wait here.”

Gou gulped. “Okay.”

 

Haru couldn't care less about the weather. He couldn't care less about the cold, he couldn't care less about the things the others had said, he couldn't care less about his own health right now. He knew where Makoto was.

He ran, and ran, and finally stopped. Panting, he stood in front of the school.

And there was Makoto. Under a tree, in front of the school gate, staring into the air as if his mind was in an entire other world. Haru had known he'd be there. For over a year, they had walked here together nearly every day, passing the beach where the entire escalation had happened. Makoto hadn't been thinking about where he was running, he had just run, and his feet had automatically carried him here.

“Makoto.”, Haru shouted. Makoto shrieked. “Ha-Haru?!”

“I love you.”, Haru said.

Makoto froze in place, and just stared at Haru with his mouth still open. “...Haru...?”, he murmured.

Haru, with a face as neutral as ever, walked to the same tree Makoto was standing under. “I love you.”, he repeated.

Makoto's eyes went big. “But...I thought you and Rin...I mean, you...” “I was too scared to tell you directly, so I tried to drop hints.”, Haru explained. “But that was stupid, and just made everything complicated. So I'm telling you now. I love you.”

And then, he smiled.

Makoto thought back, about everything that had happened. Haru saying these vague things when coming out to him. All the weird things that had happened. Everyone behaving strange at practice, the chaotic sleepover, and the evening at the beach, it all made sense all of a sudden. If Haru had just told him “I love you” back at the beginning, most likely, none of this would have happened. But maybe, it had had to happen. Maybe, otherwise, Haru would have never gotten the courage to say these words. Maybe, it had taken this much for Makoto to hear them.

He felt strangely proud.

Makoto realized he was staring at Haru, and finally, smiled. “I love you too, Haru.”

 

Holding hands, they went back to where their friends were waiting. They didn't really have to explain. Everyone could figure. Really, the smiles on their faces, and how they were holding hands, it told the entire story. No more wrong assumptions happened, and everyone was glad about that. For once, everything was clear.

 

And thus ended the chaos. The seemingly neverending misunderstandings, the infinite meddling, and the eternal heartbreak. It found its end that night.

 

Nagisa apologized to Makoto so long that Makoto was embarrased. He never told anyone what he had thought he had told Rei, but he didn't need to. Even if there had been people getting fed up with him, he knew his friends would never leave him alone. And he would never leave his friends alone, too.

 

Rei decided never to trust weird phone calls about matchmaking again, and wondered why he had ever done that in the first place.

 

Gou was the first to entirely recover. The next week, she pushed everyone in practice more than ever, saying that this entire matchmaking chaos was no reason to slack now.

 

Things were kind of awkward between Rin and Sousuke for some time, with all the matchmaking they had tried to do for each other. But for Rin, it was mostly a relief, that the dilemma he had thought he'd been in had just been imaginary.

 

Nitori was prohibited from practice, and worked on getting healthy as quickly as possible instead. Momo helped him where he could. He never said a word about Nitori being gay again, but in his mind, he still believed that Nitori might be gay. But if he really was, maybe it was better for him to come out and say it himself instead of being pushed out of the closet, Momo had decided. At least he'd know his friends would support him, no matter what.

 

Kisumi never got a proper explanation for what happened, and honestly, he didn't care anymore. He also decided to check the weather report before meeting with friends at the beach in the future. And thus, he moved on in life, grew as a person, and was as fabulous as ever.

 

Weeks later, Makoto hurried up a set of stairs in front of his house. “He's late, he's late again! Damnit!”, he cursed. “Haruuu?!”

Haru opened the doors, and watched Makoto hurry towards his house. “I'm preparing lunch.”

“That's nice, but we're late!”, Makoto shouted back. “Hurry up!”

“Okay.”, Haru answered, closed the door and went back inside. Makoto nearly crashed into the door, and sighed.

A minute later, Haru came out the door again with two boxes. “Let's go.”

Makoto pressed a kiss on Haru's lips, and took his hand. “Okay, let's go.”

 

~ THE END ~

 

 

A little author's note: To anyone who read all of this even this far, thank you, and I love you! I know I took long to finish this, but I'm happy I did. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you had a lot of fun reading this. I know, that's the stuff any author writes at the end of their fan fic, it's pretty standard, but I really mean it! I'm so glad I can create something that others enjoy.

Also, because I love you so much, as a little bonus, have an alternate (less serious) ending (small shoutout to my friends who "inspired" me to write this):

 

“Mako-chaaaan!”, Nagisa called into the dark. It had been pretty late already, but with all these clouds, one could think it was the middle of the night. The waves grew bigger and bigger and began to look like monsters with huge fangs, roaring like dragons and attacking the beach as an army, an endless black mass of salty water, ready to swallow whoever dared to go too far.

Suddenly, a tornade rose not far from the coast. Some...things were floating in it. Nagisa looked at it, then at Rei, then back at it. “What is that thing?”, he shouted. Rei looked serious. “This is bad.”, he said. “I knew they said that there was a lot of activity of Selachimorpha in this area lately, but I never expected this...”

The mass of wind and things approached them at a high speed. Suddenly, something landed just a few meters from Nagisa. Something big, with lots of blank white teeth.

“Oh my god.”, he said. “That's a shark.”

“Yes.”, Rei answered. “And soon, they are going to be everywhere.”

“omg Sharknado is real!”, Nagisa squealed.

But the sharknado came closer quickly and he realized that they were going to die. So he stopped being cheerful and cried instead. Until suddenly...

“I have come to rescue you!”, Rin shouted, and lifted his arms. “Ooooh, sharnado, nado of sharks, return to your original form! You are not wanted here! YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE!”

The tornade stopped approaching, and just stood in one place, close to the beach. Sharks were still flying through the air.

“Sharks, listen to your true master! Return to the sea, where you belong!” Rin started glowing and made a magical girl transformation into a sexy shark costume.

“What is happening?!”, Nagisa shouted. Rei stared at Rin with widened eyes. “My god.”, he said. “He is attaining his ultimate form. He is becoming...the true shark.”

Rin, no, true shark, stretched his arms in front of him, and a ball of light began to shine.

“Shark teeth glowing teenage boy hormon angst gay subtext super mega ultra fan fiction hero shark week BEAAAAAAAAAAAAM!”, he screamed, and a beam of light hit the tornado. It stopped and a mysterious power pulled all the sharks back into the ocean, where they lived happily ever after.

The clouds broke and a ray of light fell on Rin, who grew angel wings made of shark skin and landed on the ground gracefully. “My duty is done here.”, he said. “I can return to shark heaven.”

“But Rin-chan!”, Nagisa yelled. “We love you! Don't leave! You still haven't entered a polyamorous relationship with Haru-chan and Sou-chan and Ai-chan! Oh, and maybe some others too, lol idk.”

“kay lol”, Rin replied and returned to his normal form. Then the entire cast had a polyamorous wedding and everyone married each other. They decided to take the family name Matsuoka because firstly, two of them had that name already and also as to honour Rin's brave fight against the sharknado. And they all lived happily ever after. The End.

 

 


End file.
